The Human's Journey
by Deepfreeze222
Summary: Sam is thrown into Equestria by a power beyond him. He wakes up with some mysterious bands around his wrists. He soon meets a Dryad and together, they discover the power of the bands in this world inhabited by sentient animals. Intimate scenes. Arc 2 complete. Hiatus.
1. Chapter 1

**Prophesy of the return:**

**Fire Ice and Storm**

**The three forces of the Earth**

**Of one shall decide the final Form.**

**Three heroes shall answer the Call**

**One shall Stand**

**The second shall fall, and the third will Brawl.**

**An ancient Evil that has once been Silenced**

**Shall rise Again**

**From the ashes of an Alliance.**

**The Humans Journey**

Sometimes, in life, things happen to you. Whether you like them or not is entirely up to you. Sometimes, you hate it at first and then you learn to love it. I think what happened to me was a good thing for the most part. However, why don't you decide for yourself.

I was walking in the park when it happened: a sort of buzzing. Like what you hear coming off a car radio whose owner has too much time on their hands. It was like I was standing outside a nightclub. I could practically feel the buzzing coming from somewhere out in the park.

At first, I tried to ignore it; but, it got to me eventually. I looked around and saw other people walking, seemingly unaffected by it.

I started making my way towards it, using my ears and, to some extent, my hands. What I found was something only out of imagination.

It was a shining, golden ball of light with ribbons of color streaming through it.

I wanted to back away, but I couldn't. It was drawing me towards it. I could feel myself walking towards it. Each step, harder to resist than the last. When I got to it however, I gained a sudden moment of clarity.

'What was I doing here? Why was I about to do this?' I asked myself.

As I gazed upon it, something started creeping into my mind: an intense curiosity, one that hadn't been there before. Just to make sure, I pulled out my phone and sent a text to my sister, telling her I would be home shortly.

I reached toward the sphere, hesitant to touch it outright, and poked it. Nothing. I poked it again. Nothing. Out of pure spite of common sense, I placed my entire palm on it.

I was met with an almost unbearable pain. I felt a buzzing in my ears and managed to open my eyes. I was in a tunnel with the same complexion as the sphere. I was also looking at a mirror image of myself.

As I looked at it, it opened it's eyes. They appeared to be a pure blue with no irises.

"You have accepted the gift, now watch as your body takes the consequences." It stated.

Then the thing started changing. It's...my, red hair gained on an almost fiery aspect. My shirt and shorts tightened as my body grew taller and wider. My arms and legs started developing muscles and toning them. My feet looked like they wanted to break out of my sandals. All the while, I could feel it happening.

All over, I felt hot and exhausted. My mind felt like mush and I could barely keep my eyes open.

After what felt like forever, the tunnel opened up and I rushed towards the end.

I fell out of it and landed quite hard on a dirt road.

As I was sitting up and rubbing my head, I was looking around. What first hit me was how primitive the place looked. Everything looked like it was from the dark ages. The second thing to hit me was the inhabitants; what appeared to be mutated, technicolor, miniature horses. Many of them giving me looks of not giving a crap.

Despite this, I panicked. I ran out of the town as quickly as I could. I ran for what felt like hours. I eventually came upon what appeared to be an apple farm.

"Good thing horses can't climb trees." I said to myself as I came to rest by one. I didn't feel all that tired, surprisingly. As I looked over my body, I noticed something.

On my wrists were pure blue, paper thin shackles that were just large enough for me to not be able to cover them completely with my hands if I held them, over them.

"If I am not dreaming, someone's going to regret whatever it is that they did to me." I griped to myself.

I looked up to see the sun setting. I climbed up the nearest tree and got comfortable for the night, confident that the weird horses couldn't get to me up here.

**Applejack's POV (Morning after)**

"Morning Granny, Applebloom, Big mac." I said to my family as I gave each of them a nod, respectively.

"Good morning, Applejack." They said in unison.

"Hey sis! Did you hear about the funny lookin diamond dog that was seen in town yesterday?" Applebloom asked me.

"No, I didn't hear nothing about that." I answered. I looked to Big mac.

"Well they said it ran into the orchard." Applebloom told me.

I raised an eyebrow at her. "What? I'm just telling you what I heard from the other ponies." She whined.

"Be careful." Big mac said, surprising me.

"You're still going into town?" I asked him.

"Yup." He answered. He picked up his bowl and put it in the sink, then walked out the door to get hitched to the cart.

"Well, I'll be off then." I told Granny and Applebloom.

"Aren't you going to eat anything?" Granny asked me.

"Naw, I'm not hungry right now. I'll come in for a snack, later." I told her. She just nodded.

I made my way out of the house towards the section of orchard I would be working on today.

"I hope it isn't in here." I mumbled to myself. I wasn't scared, it was just that, where one diamond dog was, a pack wasn't far behind.

Before I bucked my first tree, I looked around to make sure nothing was around here. I set up the baskets I had placed here yesterday, in their positions.

I gathered my strength and kicked the tree. Apples started falling out, but I heard another noise. I heard somepony yell something and then it all went dark.

* * *

**A/N: This is a rewrite of the first chapter. I will probably do one for all the chapters before my break. Mostly because I hated the first few chapters of this story. It showed quite obviously how bad I was at writing and I didn't like it. Since the original posting of this chapter, I have gotten much better (hopefully, I feel better), so I wanted to give this story the writing it deserved. Since I am done with arc one, I can focus on it without having to worry about accidentally changing too much. I hope everyone likes the rewrite (I won't change any major plot points, just give it an upgrade in quality). See ya on the flip side (still not doing the accents). (Yes, the prophecy is there for a reason. It just won't come into play until the second arc. And yes, it sucks.)**


	2. Chapter 2: Bumpy Introductions

**Sam**

I was having a great dream filled with my favorite food of all time, cheeseburgers. Yeah, I knew they weren't the healthiest thing in the world but the meat, especially at places that get it right, just compliments the bun and cheese so well I can't force myself to eat anything else until I had one. _MMMM buuurrrrgerrrs..._

**Thump**

_'What the fu'-_**Snap**

All of a sudden I was falling again.

I landed quite softly. I didn't remember where I was and didn't notice my smooth landing was caused by something soft and fuzzy.

I looked around angrily "Who's the jerk who knocked me out of my tree!" I yelled to no one in particular.

It was then that I heard a, surprisingly, feminine grunt.

I looked below me and saw one of those wierd horses laying beneath me.

"Holy crap, are you okay?!" The redundant question coming out of my mouth automatically till I realized that it probably couldn't understand me or even speak as far as I knew.

I quickly scrambled off to get away and turned around to run but stopped when I noticed it was unconscious.

"Stupid big brotherly instincts." I grumbled as I decided to see if the poor thing was injured. As I walked over I noticed that it was orange with long blonde hair tied up in red band.

Its breathing seemed to be slighlty erratic and labored as well. I hoped I didn't somehow manage to puncture its lung, that would be really bad. I looked over its ribcage and saw a slight deformity on one side. Yup, pretty sure it had some broken ribs.

I knew I had to do something to help it, but wasn't sure how to go about it. If I slung it over my shoulder I risked hurting its, possibly, already hurt lung even more, and I didn't know how long it would be before I could find my way out and find someone to help me. I also didn't want to leave it alone in such a condition. I also knew that holding it like it was a baby might put more strain on its lung and possibly damaged ribcage depending on where my arms were and that it would be one of the more uncomfortable and tiring ways to carry it.

I finally came to the conclusion to carry her baby burping style with my right forearm securing her '_Flank? is that what it's called?' _and her head cradled in the crook of my neck with my left forearm securing the middle of her back, holding her so she leaned against me but with most of her body's weight on her spine and off of her undercarriage. Surprisingly she wasn't all that heavy even though I could tell she was muscular just by holding her, feeling her muscles under her fur. She weighed at most 40 pounds. And with my new build she was easy to carry for the moment.

I then set off, it took me awhile but I finally managed to find a trail which thankfully allowed me to see a big, bright red barn in the distance.

After a few minutes walk I arrived. "Hello? Is anyone there. This thing is hurt and needs help." I called not caring that I probably couldn't be understood, only caring if I was heard or not.

For the next few moments I waited, looking around to see if I could spot another one of these things. I yelled a second time. Still no response.

It was then that I decided to look around to see if I could find anyone. After about 20 minutes of lugging her around searching, with a 5 minute break, I still couldn't find anyone. I started looking around in the distance to see if I could spot that town I had originally landed in.

Eventually I did and started my walk there.

After a few minutes I arrived near the border of the town. I had stopped, contemplating whether or not I should take her straight in or call out for someone when my decision was made for me.

"_Look out!" _A voice in my head yelled. I turned just in time to see a rainbow colored blur slam into my side and felt the creature being lifted out of my hands. All I felt right now was the kidney pain and the almost unbearable sensation of pins and needles in my wrists at a seemingly ten-fold sensativity.

I looked around and saw what must have hit me. "Did I just get tackled by a baby blue rainbow haired pegasus?" I asked incredulously, looking at the pegasus about 20 feet above me with what I was guessing a smug grin for getting in a cheap shot.

"Stay away from my friend you mutated diamond dog!" a tomboyish voice yelled at me. I was wondering where it came from when another voice, this one posh and slightly english yelled "Rainbow Dash, Applejack looks hurt. You could have hurt her even more if I hadn't caught her!" Chided what appeared to be a white unicorn with highly stylized lavander hair to the pegasus now known to me to be Rainbow dash.

In my moment of dazed confusion I yelled at the baby blue pegasus "I was trying to help her you freaky horse!" I then noticed her face go from arrogant and smug to really pissed off war horse of death.

She dived forward achieving speeds I didn't think possible for a living creature to obtain in such a short distance. I felt my arms come up into an instinctual defensive position.

...

A slight tingle in my wrists but nothing more.

I opened my eyes to see a shocked expression on the unicorns face and yet another horse lying on the ground unconscious. "Two for two, awesome!" I said with a bitter hint in my tone. I really didn't want to keep injuring horses, especially, now that I thought about it, hadn't done anything to me without reason.

I scrambled to her side and checked her breathing and heartbeat.

"I think she is okay, just unconscious" I told the unicorn who was starting to come to her senses.

She trotted over to me a with concerned look on her face "Are you sure darling? That was a really big collision."

"I am no vet but I am pretty sure she is fine, just unconscious." I stated. It was then that I noticed that I just started and ended a brief yet full conversation with a white unicorn with stylized purple hair and that the Rainbow maned pegasus only reason for charging me would have been her understanding my, apparently insulting, remark.

"You can talk?!" I half screamed half cried scrambling away furiously.

"Of course dear, I am a pony after all." She stated not caring that I probably insulted her nor caring that she was talking to what, I could only assume, was a beast or monster in her world.

I started to calm down and remembered what I originally came here to do. I got over my fear of the impossible situation I was in and decided to flip my shit at a more opportune time. "The _pony_ you have in your force hold is hurt, and badly I think. She might have a punctured lung and probably a broken rib or two"

Her face fell and she remembered how '_Applejack, is that what she called the orange one?', _looked in my arms. "We need to get her to the hospital and quickly!" she stated with urgency. I nodded already knowing this but humoring her and picked up the unconscious Pegasus. We ran towards what I assumed was the local hospital, not noticing my new blue accesories were glowing and pulsating with a new found energy.

* * *

**A/N: Here is the updated second chapter. Unlike the first chapter, which was an entire redesign, this one is more like a patched up version. It wasn't nearly as in a sorry state as the first and I was lazy. Deal with it. Italics indicate the characters thoughts (I stop that eventually then continue you with 'these' for thoughts sometime in the future) and yes there is a reason for the voice in his head to have quotation marks around it while also being italicized and bold implies an audible noise neccesary for context. If you are returning or if the first chapter didn't scare you off, I hoped you enjoyed the second one. See ya on the flip side.**


	3. Chapter 3: Fun with my Delerium

As the _pony _and I made our way to the hospital with our two charges, going as quickly as we could without causing any more harm then I had already done, I noticed the other ponies giving us looks of worry.

"Uh excuss me Miss..." I said attempting to try and block them out. I already felt terrible enough.

"Rarity is the name darling."

"Are we almost to the hospital... Applejack was it?" I asked gesturing to the pony in her force hold. She nodded. "Was hurt quite some time ago. I would say close to 45 minutes and she appears to be getting worse."

"It is right around the corner" She said, starting to go faster. I could tell she was anxious to help her friends. I tried to speed up as well without doing more harm, but it was difficult.

We arrived in the next few minutes. Rarity started explaining what had happened. She was pretty calm for someone who had just escorted two of her unconscious friends and a monster to the hospital.

What I am assuming was a nurse took notes and handed them to a bigger looking pony who said to bring Applejack to get stabalized. He then sent another nurse to prepare another room for Rainbow dash for a check-up. Rarity went in with them in case they needed any other information.

Once that was all done, Rarity came back out of the doors seperating the waiting room from the rest of the hospital.

"How are they?" I asked feeling guilty about all the trouble I had caused.

"Rainbow is fine but it will be a tad before they are able to get back to us on Applejack." She said letting out an almost hopeless sigh after telling me the condition of her two friends.

It was just awkward silence for a few moments. Thinking that saying something along the lines of 'that's a relief' might just make her feel worse about the whole situation. I was swayed by my thoughts when she asked me a few questions in quick succesion the shock of seeing something like me starting to wear off and be replaced with fear.

"How did Applejack get hurt? How did you find her? Why did you help her? What kind of diamond dog are you?"

I let out a sigh, I sensed the rest of the day wasn't going to be much better. Not caring about anything at this moment just wanting to tell someone to help me straighten it out myself, I decided to tell her everything.

I explained what had happened for the next few minutes, getting it all out in one go. I had a little shortness of breath by the time I was done.

She just stared at me with expressionless eyes for a few moments making me feel very self conscious and squeamish. She eventually looked away, taking in everything I said with a look of concentration on her face. No doubt due to the holes she was trying to poke into my story, glancing at my bands every once in a while. She was interrupted when a nurse came out.

"Miss Rarity?" She called. Rarity got up and walked over. They exchanged a few words and walked through the doors.

I got really nervous. They couldn't be done already, it was impossible. They were only in there, at the most, a little under an hour. And Rarity had said that they had needed to stabalize Applejack before they could do anything. I didn't know how long stabilization took, but it had to be longer than a measly few minutes. After they had stabilized her, they would have to get ready for an X-ray and then do the X-ray. That would have taken awhile too. There was no way they could be done yet. I was starting to panic before something hard hit me in the face. I looked over and saw Rarity looking at me, her hoof coming back down to rest on the ground.

"What was that all about?" She asked, her tone even.

"What is wrong with Applejack?!" I blurted out ignoring her question.

"She is-" Rarity was ignored once again as I started having a large panic attack asking to myself what was I going to do muttering and sputtering of how much harm I had done in such a short time in what appeared to be a quite little town. I started talking to myself, making stupid blood oaths. I wasn't in the best condition to be thinking at the moment.

I started gaining attention the louder I got and soon I was talking in a slightly louder then normal voice. This whole time, Rarity was trying to calm me down. Eventually she got fed up of doing it the easy way and took her back hoofs and softly but firmly bucked me onto one of the sitting room mats. She looked deep into my eyes and I saw something I didn't expect to see in hers.

Respect.

She started speaking slowly as if to a child.

"Applejack. Is. Fine."

I felt relief flood my system almost passing out from the sheer joy I was experiencing. But the look she was giving me stopped me from experiencing it.

"Applejack would like to speak with you as well darling." Her accent coming back more pronounced. I hadn't even noticed it was almost gone. I gulped and she let me stand up. It was only then that I realized I towered over her. The top of her head almost coming up to where my belly button was.

She led me through the waiting doors, down a few hallways and up a flight of stairs where we continued until we got to 5th door on the left. Rarity opened it and I stepped inside, where I saw Applejack in the hospital bed seemingly waiting for us.

"Rarity would you mind gettin my brother? He should still be up at the usual spot."

"Sure thing dear." Rarity said before going up to Applejack and giving her a friendly nuzzle and a small exchange and then set off to find her friend's brother.

"I think we need to talk." She stated bluntly.

**Rarity**

It frightened me a little when the creature went into his rant, but I snapped him out of it. I realized I hadn't been very ladylike, but some things just needed a firm hoof.

That was when I had started believing his story without being suspicious of him. Of course, I had told Applejack everything he had told me and when we had gone back into her room, I told her of his little tyrade.

The walk from ponyville hospital to the market part of town took about 10 minutes. I started looking around the general area I knew the Apples' liked to set up shop. Eventually, I found Big mac and, wanting to get back to Applejack as soon as possible, set my mind on giving him the message I was supposed to deliver as soon and as quickly as I could.

"Hello, Miss Rarity" Big mac said in his rumbling voice. He was at an old stall that was a little banged up but had an apple on the board above the selling top.

"Hello to you to, Big mac" I said. Cutting straight to the chase "I am here to deliver a message from Applejack. She is at the hospital healing up after her rib punctured her lung do to an accident on the farm." With each word, Big mac's expression became a little more concerned.

"How in the world did she get an injury like that, is she alright at least?" He asked.

"She is fine for the moment, but you know that creature that was seen in-" I was cut off as Big mac raced as fast as he could to his little sisters side in the hospital with a guilty conscience, a burning fury, and concerned heart.

**Sam**

The last 15 minutes had passed by with Applejack and I talking about Equestria. She believed me thankfully, or thought I was crazy and just humoring me. Either way, I got to learn about this strange new land. We talked about the different types of ponies and the difference between mares and stallions, and the basic ways to tell them apart. We also talked about cutiemarks, the princesses, and she even brought up some weird thing about her being an element of harmony, what ever that was. When we were done with all the questions I had that she could answer, she started to say something but was cut off by a large slamming down stairs. We were right by the window that overlooked the entrance so we could hear it quite clearly.

There was some yelling and eventually, about 30 seconds later, a large red stallion with an orange mane rushed in. He ran over to Applejack. I assumed this was Big mac, her older brother. I stood up and said hi kind of awkwardly. I didn't want to ruin the moment but I also didn't want to make him feel weird for not noticing me. When he finally did notice me though, I thought I could literally see steam come from his nostrils.

He charged and with little time to react he rammed right into me sending me out the window. Luckily we were only on the second floor and I managed to land in the hedges. I looked up to see him giving me a very strong glare.

I was terrified. That stallion was strong, much stronger then I was or could ever hope to be, and I did not want to tangle with him over his little sister and so I did the most logical thing I could do. I ran. Fast.

I ran and ran till I came upon a forest. I thought I remembered Applejack telling me something about this place but couldn't remember what. I decided it was safer then Ponyville at the moment and headed inside. The trees seemed to shimmer with a purple light, getting more distinct with each layer of trees the deeper I went.

As I was deciding what I would do next, I heard a scream of terror and took off.

* * *

**A/N: Here is the third chapter redone. Wow haha. This one... this one was pretty bad. It took me almost twenty minutes to fix everything in it. And I didn't rewrite it. It's hard not to be embarrassed when you read over previous work and it's leagues below your current skill. Anyways, there wasn't anything important in the old A/N so I don't need much else. See ya on the flip side.**


	4. Chapter 4: Nature's new best Friend

I started scrambling through the trees and other assortment of vegetation trying to get to where I thought the scream had come from. I called out trying to see if whatever it was could hear me.

"Hello! I heard your scream and came to help!"

"Over here" Said a voice that was quickly followed by a panicked... women?

"You have to help me please my tree... it's on fire. Please, I need that tree. I will do anything you ask please just help me." She begged as she grabbed my shirt.

I nodded and she sprinted into a some bushes with me right behind her. When we came out the other side my jaw dropped. I was staring at a ginormous tree with a deep greenish glow and around it was a circular river emitting a light blue glow that was practically hidden by the water's own color. We were about twenty feet from the tree and the entire thing we where in seemed to be completely circular with trees and hedges with a deep purple glow of their own. All around were panicked creatures all staring at the tree which I now noticed was the one on fire.

At first as we rushed towards it, I didn't notice that that was the tree that was on fire, but only because the fire was green just like the tree's aura making it harder to see. Only the base was on fire but that could quickly change.

But the fire itself looked wierd, almost like it was on top of a liquid, burning. It was then that I remembered back to my late night study sessions in college and of Byzantium week. One of their most powerful naval weapons: Greek fire. I knew if this was somehow Greek fire that we couldn't put it out. We needed things to snuff it out like sand but there wasn't any and the only other thing around was the water and vegetation. Both having the possibility of making it worse.

I skidded to a halt trying to think of something.

"What are you doing?!" The girl yelled "You said that you would help me." as she hauled a large basket towards the tree.

She placed it into the water and I knew what she was going to do.

"Stop!" I yelled as I ran trying to get to her.

**Sploosh **

**Thwoom**

There was a small fireball that flew up the tree.

"Ahhh!" The girl yelled in agony. That confirmed that it was Greek fire. She tried touching the tree but I got to her in time and tried pulling her away. She wouldn't budge but couldn't move forward either.

I knew I needed to get her away from the tree lest the branches start breaking off or, heaven forbid, the tree just toppled.

I tugged her back, pulling her to me and used the moment to turn, switching our positions in the process, and pushed her forward. It was then that the tree did fall, almost completely burned through. What I didn't notice however was that my bands were vibrating and if I had turned around I would have seen the tree's aura, and the almost invisible tether between it and the women, rush to my bands.

I jumped forward out of the way of a falling branch and landed next to the women. She was a little dazed from the sudden movement, but I was able to pull her away without much hassle.

When she finally regained her bearings she sat up and stared at the now smoldering tree which had quickly gone out once it fell. She had a look of utter despair and confusion in her eyes at the same time.

By this time the animals had fled and we were alone.

I looked over at her and was surprised to see that she was tinted a light green. She had a silk dress on that hugged and accentuated her body's figure quite well, the dress being a dark shade of green matching the grass in the grove. She had long flowing red hair with small streaks of green in it here and there. Her face was beautiful. She had eyes the color of the sky and lips the color of her hair. She didn't wear anything on her feet and her dress' skirt only flowed to about the middle of her lower leg, I assumed as there wasn't all that much on the ground.

She looked at the tree with such despair in her eyes it seemed as if she had just lost a child.

I knew that if she kept thinking and looking at the tree she would just become more depressed and I knew that after losing something dear to you, a friend could be a saving grace.

I opted out of the traditional "Are you okay" knowing that, emotionally, she clearly was not okay. And physically she seemed fine.

I cleared my throat to get ready for the awkward conversation and to get her to turn her attention towards me. When she looked over I fired off my question.

"Why was that tree so special to you?" I forgot to use any tact or sensativity by accident.

"It was me." She stated bluntly. 'This isn't going well.' I thought to myself.

"What do you mean?" I asked, not understanding.

"That tree right there-" She said pointing to the tree.

"Is me. We are connected to each other, as long as it lives I live." She said looking at me with confusion and sadness in her eyes.

I noticed what she said and asked the question brewing in my mind "But if it's dead then how are you still here?" I had seen enough weird things to have learned not to question it anymore.

"I don't know but I can still feel it somehow. It is slighly different then before but I still feel it. Even though nothing could have survived that."

I saw the pain in her eyes after that statement and knew I needed to do something. So, I decided to go for the comforting hand on shoulder and kind smile. As I was raising my hand I noticed her gaze shift to it and her eyes lit up, all confusion gone and the depression fading away to a dim light.

She snatched my hand and held it to her face examining it for a second and then my band. She put her finger on it and I instantly reeled in pain due to the pins and needles dancing up my entire arm and hand.

"Please stop... that...hurts." I managed to get through the pain which had now almost paralyzed my body. She stopped immediately after hearing me.

"So you are the reason I am still alive!" She exclaimed loudly and happily.

Once my arm stopped pulsating I looked at her. "What?" I asked.

"Those bands are magical. Each set allows the wearer to absorb a magical creatures most useful ability from the perspective of said wearer. Each set also has a special usage dependent upon the strongest ability in its arsenal. When you moved between the tree and I, its aura transferred from itself to you." As she said each word she inched a little closer to me.

"So you mean to tell me that these things are magical, and that, because of such, they are now supporting your life force?" As I was having yet another mini freak out, she crawled closer to me until she was basically on top of me. Once I realized this I stopped. She said one word "Yes".

That pushed me over the edge. I just couldn't take it any more. I flipped my shit. All the craziness of the past day and a half caught up to me. I jumped up knocking her over and started just running around the clearing like an idiot yelling obscenities and cursing the universe, just freaking out and seething in pent up anger. I did this for about half an hour and stopped when I felt tired and my throat was raw. When I finally calmed down, I walked over to the women. She looked a little scared.

"What?" I asked harshly.

"Do...you not want me?" She asked me and it was then that I knew that she wasn't scared of me but for herself.

"For one, I don't even know you. Two, I never said that. Three, I don't want these!" I said as I raised up my hands and wriggled them, showcasing the bands around them.

She just collapsed into a sitting position at my words and started to stare at the grass.

Man I was a DICK. I felt terrible when I saw this. I didn't know what to do so I just sat down next to her. After a few minutes I knew what I wanted to say and how to say it.

"I'm sorry, but I don't know anything about this place, the creatures in it, or even about these bands. I don't have anyone or anything to rely on, and I haven't seen any other humans since I got here. It's just so infuriating and scary." I told her.

"It's fine. I haven't even been out of this grove since I was born." She smiled at me.

I didn't know how to respond so I kind of just sat there, thinking.

I did have one question on my mind though.

"May I ask, what are you? Everything else I have meet has been an animal."

"I am a dryad." She said as if it was the most natural thing in the world, which to her it probably was.

"A dryad? Hm I haven't seen any others or any trees that looked like your's."

"I am alone in the forest. Most of my sisters where corrupted and killed when the alicorn sisters left the forest. The ones that were left, eventually faded away, not needed by nature any more because of the ponies controlling everything. I honestly don't know why I was spared that cruel fate." She said in a sad tone.

I didn't know what to say to that and was trying to think of something else when I felt arms around me. "What are you doing?" I asked. "I am holding onto my tree. Why?".

"I could ask you the same question"

"Because that is what I did with my other tree. I would just hold it sometimes when I was lonely or sad."

"Well I feel a little uncomfortable with you holding me like this" I said as I felt her breasts pushing into me.

"Why? It's just a hug." She stated, seemingly ignorant of the fact that she was extremely attractive.

"Well its...uh... how do I put this, not something my kind likes doing with someone they don't know very well. It is usually between family and very close friends." At this she let go, finally noticing my discomfort.

"But why?" She asked not entirely understanding the reason.

"We call it personal space."

"Your kind is wierd."

"To you. To me, they alright."

"So, what exactly is your kind, you are like me, but different." She said pointing to my skin.

"We call ourselves humans. And we cover our world."

"But if you cover the world then where is the nature?" She asked slighlty concerned.

"Much of it is gone with large and small pockets here and there." She gasped at this, but let it go.

"Do all humans look like you?" She asked, inspecting my eyes and hair.

"No, in fact I'm pretty rare myself. Not a lot of human's have red hair. Most have yellow, brown or black. And our skin can vary widely." I explained.

"What do you mean? Can human's be red, blue, yellow?" She asked, probably thinking of her own skin.

"No, none of those bright colors. More things like black and brown, and my own. But there are a lot of different shades of these."

After that the, conversation died a little bit and we sat there in awkwardness. Until finally she spoke up.

"I have a more, uh, personal question."

"I will answer it if is reasonable." I said with a wary expression.

"What kind of females do you like?" She asked, catching me by surprise, with a curious expression on her face.

"Well, I didn't date much back home, so I don't have a definitive answer."

"So, what kind of guys do you like?" I asked, taking her by surprise much to my pleasure

"How should I put this... dryads are all female and we all look more or less exactly the same except for our eyes. We make young by planting a seed from our tree into the ground and then have our closest friend bless it." Well that was unexpected.

"Did you ever have a baby dryad?"

"No sadly. Physically, I am only 25 and when the princesses left I was only about 12. So I never had a chance, at least, compared to water nymphs." She replied sadly. That took a turn

"When exactly did the princess' leave?" I asked, curious.

"About a thousand years ago."

My jaw dropped. I did suspect that she aged like a tree which I knew could live for quite a long time in the right conditions, but since she was twelve a thousnd years ago that means that she is almost 2 thousand by now.

"Y-your t-two thousand years old?!" I stuttered.

"No a little more then nineteen hundred, I dont remember the specifics. But like I said, physically I am only 25."

I just stared at her for a second time in a few hours "Wow that is hard to digest."

"Why, does it bother you?" She asked concerned.

"No, not really... just a little hard to handle." I said, still trying to wrap my head around it.

After that the conversation lulled yet again. After a few moments, I realized two things, one we had been talking and sitting for a few hours now and night would be here in a few; and two, we didn't know each others names.

"I am so embarrassed right now."

"Why?"

"We don't know each others names and know quite a bit about each other."

"Oh my, you are right. Well, in that case, my name is Areta."

"Sam" I held out my hand for a handshake. She looked confused by it but gave me her hand nonetheless and we shook with her eventually understanding.

"Friends" We both said at once.

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**A/N: And here is the fourth chapter redone. This one wasn't THAT bad, but it wasn't great either. It's probably the one I've cut the most out of compared to how big it is (and that's saying something, especially since these chapters seem to have a lot of unnecessary crap in them). I also realized that Areta's character is much different in the earlier chapter's than she is in the later ones. So, I will be fixing that. I didn't like her character (after rereading it) in this chapter anyways. See ya on the flip side. (And with this chapter (because I did five before this one) I am officially half way done.)**


	5. Chapter 5: Applejack's Plan

**Applejack's POV (Right after window incident)**

I was shocked. Sure, Big mac was protective of me, but never like that before.

He walked over to me from the window with the anger on his face going away.

"Are you okay?" He asked me. I clonked him on the head and he brought his head away, startled.

"What is wrong with you? Me and him were talking before you came barging in here. And I can't believe you bucked him out of a window! Granny taught us better than that." I scolded him.

He tried to speak up, but I cut him off. I knew what he was going to say.

"It was an accident. I bucked a tree and knocked him out of it on accident and he landed on top of me. He is the one who brought me here." I explained to him.

He turned red in embarrassment. Well, redder.

"I was about to offer him a place to stay at our farm until he could get on his hooves. Now how am I gonna do that?" I asked him, not expecting an answer.

After I voiced my question, we heard a knock.

"Hi, Applejack. It's Twilight. Is it okay if I came in?" She asked through the door.

"Come on in, Twilight." I said.

"It's good that you aren't badly injured." She said on the way in. "I ran into Rarity on the way home and I had to come and check on you... Oh, she also said she wouldn't be able to make it back." She walked up to the bed and said hi to big mac.

"The doctors said I should be able to go home tomorrow, but I won't be able to do any applebucking for a few days."

"At least you're okay. What happened to you in the first place anyways?" She asked me.

"Rarity didn't tell you?" I asked her. I would've thought Rarity would have told her why. She shook her head.

I told her everything that I knew that had happened today.

"So, is it true? He's really a...a human." She seemed to have a hard time saying it.

"Yes, I think he is telling the truth. And besides, I ain't never seen a diamond dog that weird."

"He's going to have a tough time out there if he doesn't know what's going on." Twilight pointed out.

"That's what I was thinking. So, I was wondering if you would help me go look for him with that tracking spell of yours."

"Sure, I'm in." Big mac wanted to help as well so we all decided to leave when I could walk again.

* * *

**A/N: It hurts. It mentally hurts to read these old chapters. I really only wanted to do a patch job for this one, but nooooo, I had to completely rewrite it. God damn it. And this wasn't even a long one. This is the second shortest chapter I've ever written (pre rewrite) and now it's even shorter. I would honestly take it out if it wasn't crucial to the plot. As I mentioned in the original chapter's A/N, I realize that Areta can be said a number of ways. I personally do it as Uh-ret(as in retina)-uh. Don't hold the Uh sound; but you can say it however you want. Doesn't matter to me. See ya on the flip side.**


	6. Chapter 6: Uncomfortable Camping

**Sam's POV**

For the past few hours Areta and I had been setting up camp for ourselves in the glade. Me because I'm a human and Areta because she had never slept anywhere but her tree and didn't want to lay out in the open.

Areta being a dryad and having lived in this forest for the last 1,900 years knew it like the back of her hand, literally. She could walk through this part of the forest with ear plugs, nose plugs, and a blindfold and wouldn't even have to feel around. She was out getting some food for me while I set up the camp.

My grandfather had been a "True Man" in his words, knowing everything you could ever need to know to survive in a forest near indefinitely, assuming you didn't die from some disease. He had taught me everything he could. We would take bi-weekly trips to the forest and stay there until midday Sunday and then hike back to the diner about a mile from where we usually set up camp.

Each time we went we would set up a new camp much the same as the old one. Eventually, when I got strong enough to lift the wood we needed on my own, he made me purely responsible for making camp while he got the food.

During the summer we would stay out there for a whole month where we would start with nothing but the clothes on our back, some protein bars, and two bottles of water. He was weird like that but I loved him and now absolutely adored him for all he had taught me.

It still took about 3 hours but I had made a makeshift camp. It wasn't anything spectacular but it would do until I could gather the right supplies and make the right tools to build a decent shelter.

We decided we were going to stay here for a week or two getting to know each other better and to figure out a plan of action since this forest wasn't going to be able to support me. There was neither enough wildlife for me to hunt nor was there any stream nearby that I could fish from, so I basically had no source of protein. I could also FEEL the evil that Areta said had killed her sisters and knew that it would try to take us out too. Especially since Areta's tree wasn't there anymore to keep the evil from starting to slowly creep in. It would probably take over this place within the month.

"Finished" I exclaimed, proud of my work. I had made two tent like shelters out of limbs from the tree that hadn't been completely charred and covered them with some moss I had found hanging out near the edge of the glade. They were small enough to help keep us warm but also large enough so we wouldn't be squished. I had also made a fire pit and gathered some wood and dry leaves to help start it.

It was then that Areta came back using part of her dress as a type of basket.

"Oh this looks comfortable... but why are there two of those things?" She asked confused that there was another.

"One of the tents is for me and the other is for you, why?" I asked wondering why she was confused.

She didn't look to happy at that prospect. "Well, its just that I always slept on my tree. I was never alone."

"I don't think we know each other well enough to sleep together." I said trying to emphasize my point

"Well we are bonded for life so why not start with this? We are friends after all." She said setting the berries down by the fire and missing my point entirely. That, or just ignoring it.

"It would just be awkward. There isn't enough room in just one for us to have our own space. We would practically be right next to each other even if we were laying on our sides."

"It wouldn't be awkward for me. Besides you wouldn't want me getting cold now would you?" She said with giant pleading eyes. Damn she is good, we have only known each other half a day and she already knew how to get me to do what she wanted.

Knowing there was a better chance of me finding Santa Clause than winning this argument, I gave in. "Fine you can sleep with me. But only for tonight." Wow I just went over the conversation in my head and realized how bad it would be out of context.

She smiled. "It won't be so bad. You'll see." She said.

I got the fire started and I began eating the berries. I noticed a few minutes later that she wasn't eating.

"Don't you want some?" I asked holding out a berry to her.

She shook her head "I don't need to eat as long as I have enough sunlight. I can still eat I just don't like the way it feels on my teeth and in my stomach."

"Oh, so you really are just a mobile tree aren't you." I said in a joking manner.

"Exactly." She said, ignoring my shitty joke. Be that way then.

I looked up and saw the moon rising. "Well, I guess it is time for bed." I stood up and stretched.

I put a log on the fire for the night and motioned for Areta to follow me to the makeshift tent.

"Ok so how do you want to do this? Do you want to get in first and then have me wiggle in or do you want me to get in first and you wiggle in?" I asked her.

She pondered this for a moment. "You get in first and then I will wiggle in, much easier over all."

"Okay another question: Do you want to be back to back, back to front, or front to front?" I asked hoping she said back to back. I didn't want to be squished against her breasts for the night nor wake up in the morning accidentally fondling her since my arms always ended up in front of me. I didn't want to get off to an even more bad start then had already happened.

She thought about this longer than she did the entrance plan. It wasn't until she noticed my squeamishness that she made her decision. "My back to your front." She stated with a smirk on her face.

Damn, she is twisted when she wants to be. I was starting to regret telling her that she was beautiful and that I didn't do well around girls.

I sighed. "Alright."

I began crawling in the makeshift tent noticing that it was roomier then I initially thought. We might have been able to sleep shoulder to shoulder but that would have been too uncomfortable.

When I was done and got myself comfortable I told her I was ready.

She started wiggling and, I swear to god that she did this on purpose, rubbed every inch of her body that she could on me in the process. Man the images that ran through my head were not for children.

Eventually, she got in and got comfortable, snuggling as close to me as she could.

I had no idea where to put the hand that wasn't acting as my pillow. I could have used it as well but thought that it would make it more uncomfortable for her. And I was just mentally kicking myself for being thoughtful.

Seemingly reading my mind she reached over, grabbed my hand and placed it on her stomach right below her breasts and laid her own across it. It was then that I realized that we were spooning.

Great now I don't want to go to sleep, I am afraid of what my mind and my body will do during the night.

"You planned this didn't you?"

"Why what ever are you talking about?" She asked. I could feel the smirk in her voice.

I sighed and decided to just go with the flow. I fidgeted around for a few seconds and, finding a comfortable position, decided to just relax and fall asleep and eventually I did.

I didn't get too much sleep when I woke up to wriggling. It took me a few moments but I realized I wasn't holding on to Areta anymore and was staring at the wall of moss.

I felt her moving around behind me. "Are you okay?"

She stopped wriggling and sighed. "This is too uncomfortable. Every time you move, I have to reposition myself." She explained.

"Oh, I get it." I started thinking of a solution. I could make us a bed with the moss.

I pushed off the little shelter and looked at the sky. I couldn't see any clouds blocking out the stars, so I assumed we'd be safe for tonight.

"Come on, I'm going to make us a bed." I told her, standing up.

"A bed?" She asked, looking at me.

"Come on, I'll show you." I said as I looked around.

"Where is the softest spot?" I asked.

"Right over there." She answered, pointing to an area by the fallen tree.

"Ok then, grab the moss from the other shelter." She nodded and I grabbed the moss from ours.

We took them over to the soft spot and I laid mine down. I told her I would be back and set out for some more. I eventually returned a few minutes later with some moss I had managed to roll into a sort of long cylindrical pillow. I placed it down and grabbed the moss she was holding.

"Lay down on the moss." I said and she eventually complied.

I spread out the moss around her like a blanket and when I was done, climbed in myself.

"There now we have some room."

She looked comfortable and now I didn't have to be squished up next to her.

I put my hand under the moss pillow and fell asleep within the hour.

* * *

**A/N: Yeah I realized a misstep in my research. I was telling my friend about the story and when I got to the part about Areta he pointed out that dryads ARE the trees, literally. They become them not care for them. He told me everything else about Areta was possible so I will just stick with what I have. Mythology is extremely flexible especially Greek, some stories have like 15 different versions so I will just use that to my advantage. Yeah I know, a little sappy but to be honest I like sappy, well decent sappy. I am not a real out doorsy kind of person so I don't know if it is safe or not to sleep in moss. I don't really feel like doing hours of research on moss so for this story it is. This is the sixth chapter done and was okay. I did delete a lot of things because the more I read about Areta in these early chapters, the more I dislike her. Otherwise, this was just a simple patch job. I'm also curious about something. Can people see when I upload an updated chapter? Does it show up? If it does, tell me, because I would like to know. See ya on the flip side.**


	7. Chapter 7: Bands of War

**A/N: Just a quick one before you start reading. When I started the second chapter I knew that eventually Sam was going to end up in the everfree forest and I knew how he was going to get back out. The only problem is I had all this figured out before I even thought of Areta, so now I am having a hard time figuring out what I want to have happen so sorry if this chapter is a little more disjointed then usual.**

* * *

Sam's POV

As I feared sleeping together was a bad idea. The only other person who had slept in a bed with me was my sister on the nights she was scared and that was quite a long time ago.

We woke up in a really awkward positions that separate were normal for us but together really messed us up.

I woke up like usual with my cheek buried in the moss and laying on my stomach, but Areta also slept like this only on the limbs of her tree so she wasn't used to laying on completely flat surfaces and so sometime during the night she had climbed on top of me and wrapped her arms around my torso while I was facedown which seriously messed up my back and deadened her arms so much that she wouldn't feel them for hours to come.

When I realized that there was something moving on top of me I rolled over quickly throwing Areta from my back who rolled onto her back while I rolled on top of her.

"Why can't I feel my arms and why are you on top of me?" She asked. It was then that I realized the position we were in. I quickly got off of her with a slight blush and helped her up while apologizing and explaining.

We sat back down to wake up a little more. I cracked my back to help alleviate some of the soreness.

"Are you okay?!" Areta asked, worried that something had broken.

"A little sore from you sleeping on me but nothing I can't deal with."

"Oh, sorry about that. Old habits die hard." She said with a sheepish smile.

"No worries." I said smiling at her.

"Well maybe I can do something to help. Whenever my try was hurt I could help it heal, maybe I can do the same for you."

"Sure, why not." I said as I got up, walked over to her then layed down on my stomach.

She straddled me and put her hands on my shoulders. A few seconds later they started glowing a cobalt blue. "Hmm, well that's new. The color used to be the same as my trees leaves." She said but shrugged it off.

She began rubbing my shoulders and eventually worked her way up and down my back kneading and applying pressure to muscles and my spine. All the while I just layed there basking in the warmth and tenderness of her hands.

A few minutes later she was done and I felt great. Still wasn't that comfortable with all the touching but I didn't want to make a big deal about it and knew that I eventually would get used to it.

We kind of did our own thing for most of the day. She started collecting more varieties of plants for me to eat for our trip and I gathered the resources I would need to make some basic tools and maybe some sort of carrying pouch. Eventually we came back together about an hour before sundown. I restarted the fire and set on making the tools we needed. We talked while I worked. Mostly about each other some more. We still had a lot to learn about each other and wanted to be as close as possible before setting out.

Eventually night time rolled around and we went to bed. The next morning going smoother then the last. We woke up in much the same way we went to bed the first night with her laying her head on my chest and me with my arm around her. She didn't bring up the one night sleeping condition which I was glad for. I really like sleeping with someone.

"Morning" I said sitting up and rubbing my eyes.

"Good morning" She said while yawning and stretching.

"What are we doing today?" She asked, curious about how she would be spending the day.

"While you gathered quite a few edible plants yesterday so we shouldn't have to get more until the day before we leave, and I gathered most of the resources I need. So what I was wondering was if you could tell me more about my bands?"

She collected her thoughts for a moment before she answered "While I don't know a lot but I know their basic purpose. They were meant to give non-magical beings a chance to survive. I know ponies weren't always the only dominant species in Equestria, there was another. It looked like us but it also had a tail and horns. They weren't very useful though. The tail wasn't dexterous enough to grip anything nor was it any use in balance being too light and the horns were very short. The were very weak compared with the rest of Equestria's inhabitants. Most other creatures were either stronger or faster and with ponies having both magic and intelligence they didn't really have any advantage that they could exploit. The ponies took pity on them and crafted the bands. Only about 3 dozen were made before the only one who could make them died. Apparently the bands had an unfortunate side-effect. If a pair were created a part of the creators soul had to be fused into them. The craftsman didn't know this and died from making so many. Eventually they were dubbed meta-morphs by the creatures. They took them graciously and gave them to greatest males and females in their species. But unfortunately a pair was given to the most dangerous one. A male whose name I do not know. He slaughtered the other meta-morph holders until him and another remained. Another male whose arsenal rivaled the evil one. They eventually clashed the good one was killed. The evil one had been driven insane by the amount of power he held within him. He then proceeded to slaughter every other male he could find trying to make sure that all sons were his sons. Eventually the male population nearly ceased to exist. With a male to female ratio of about 1 to 3,000 or so. Along the way he raped every women he could find time with. He left dozens upon dozens of children. He eventually died of old age and the last pair of bands disappeared like the others. Eventually the species became too weak and died out within a few dozen generations." She explained. Finally done with her mini history lesson she sighed remembering what her mother had told her.

"So these are cursed then?" I asked realizing that every creature that had been given a band had met a terrible fate.

"Not exactly, no. It is what you do with them that makes them evil or good. Supposedly the darker your band gets the more evil and wicked you are, the brighter the band the better you are."

"So how exactly do they work?" I asked wanting to try and test out what I had already acquired.

"I don't know to be honest, I was only getting started in my lessons on magical artifacts."

"Well then how did you know about these? They are obviously very powerful and no longer exist besides mine."

"That is the whole reason I know of them. Dryads believed that if you forget about something that can harm you, what it can do is multiplied ten-fold because no one knows how to stop it or deal with it." She said.

I tried to see the problem in that type of reasoning but to be honest it was actually pretty sound. It had a meaning akin to the quote about history repeating itself.

"That kind of thinking is actually pretty smart now that I think about it." I said with admiration at the natural intelligence the Dryad's seemed to possess.

Getting back to the subject at hand I continued the previous conversation "Is there anything you can tell me about them that might help me learn more?"

"Some stories mentioned the evil creature constantly meditating and talking to himself while he did so. You could try that." She suggested.

"I'll give it a shot." I said.

I got into a meditative position, well what I assumed was one. I tried slowing my breathing and heart rate while at the same time focusing on the bands. Eventually I felt a little pull in my mind. I tried to go with it but just couldn't focus.

I tried this for about an hour. "Ahhhh!" I yelled in frustration, startling Areta who had started day dreaming. "What, what's going on?" She asked a little confused.

"I can't do it. I feel like something wants to happen but I just can't seem to get calm or focused enough to let myself go." I stated in an aggravated tone.

"Maybe the bands only respond to shows of power?" She suggested.

"Might be but that usually means something is evil in my world. If you have to show your power then whatever it is that forces you to show it wants to know what you can and can't do." I stated now slightly worried about what I was getting myself into.

"Don't worry I will be right next to you the whole time." She said as she scooted over to me and placed a hand on my shoulder comfortingly.

I nodded and tried again. Just like last time I eventually felt the pull but instead of letting it take me I resisted. That was when I got a response, it pulled harder. I resisted even more and then it pulled even harder. We went back and forth like this for what felt like hours but was only about 5 minutes. Eventually it stopped pulling and my eyes suddenly shot open revealing a something other then the glade.

* * *

**A/N: Hey everyone here is another chapter. This was the last one that I actually had a schedule for, so expect updates erratically from now on. I originally wanted this to be one whole chapter with the next one but like I said up top had difficulty with weaving Areta into the meeting between Sam and the others and decided to mentally rejuvenate over the weekend before I attempt it. I noticed that more people have read "Applejack's plan" then "Nature's new best friend" which disappoints me a little. It may not be the best thing out there but it has a lot of exposition and context in it for the story. I was actually kind of proud of that chapter to be honest. I think I did a decent job on it and the fact that people seem to skip over it saddens me a little. Enough with the pity party lets move onto other things shall we. I don't exactly know what to do with the story at the moment. I could have a fairly large over-arching plot that I could develop just with the bands. And I could do even more with a Dryad arch. But at the same time I don't want the romance to take a back seat. That is one of my pet peeves when reading a romance story along with harems and dancing around the subject of romance between the two main characters for most of the story. I will need time to think on this so after the next chapter it might be awhile before I get another out. I would like your guys' thoughts on this. The next chapter will definitely have Sam, Areta, and Applejack meeting up. There will be action, real action not the stuff I did between Rainbow and Sam which was like a slap fight with feather dusters. See ya on the flip side.**


	8. Chapter 8: The battle of Nature

Sam's POV

**A/N: Another quick beginning one. I am sorry if the description of where Sam is, is very weird or is hard to understand. I had a lot of trouble trying to explain it so if people have a problem with it I will think of something else. Also, exposition by the truck load. I am American so I will be using measurements like miles and inches for the most part. I am taking physics at the moment so the metric system might slip through every once in a while.**

When I opened my eyes all I saw was white. I was standing on a platform I couldn't see.

I looked around and noticed a white desk with someone who looked exactly like me sitting in a desk chair with his feet up on the desk, head back, and probably sleeping.

"Hey, where am I?" I called to him.

He raised his head and looked at me with pure cobalt blue eyes. "You're in the bands numbnuts, don't you remember the last thing you were trying to do?".

I didn't know what to say to that so I chose to ignore it.

"Ok then, WHAT is this place?"

"This place is our training ground and the place where we can actually speak freely to each other." He said. All of a sudden an uncomfortable looking chair appeared in front of the desk. He motioned for me to sit in it.

"What do you mean speak freely? Can we only communicate in here?" I asked noticing his choice of words.

"We can communicate in other places besides here but I can't speak to you except to warn you of danger or if you ask me a direct question. You remember that little voice in your head when that blue pony was about to tackle you? Well that was me." He stated, then gestured to a screen that appeared out of no where and showed my brief scuffle with Rainbow. I noticed that he was on my shoulder the whole time in it. It disappeared when the clip finished.

"And this training ground is the place where I come to hone my skills?" I asked starting to pick up on exactly what was happening.

"Yup, every power you absorb gets catalogued in here and is available for your use here. You can use any of your powers almost indefinitely unless one of us puts some sort of temporary restriction on it. Time in here passes three times as fast as the time out in the real world so you can get much more done. Don't worry about staying in here for too long. If your body needs to do something that requires your consciousness' assistance then a warning will appear and you can leave to go take care of it. Any more questions Mr. Curiosity?" He said in a slightly annoyed tone.

"A few actually. Who or what are you?" I wanted to get as much information as possible.

"I am one of your emotional incarnations the bands thought would be able to best help you. I, personally, am your compulsiveness. Not really an emotion but a strong part of your character nonetheless."

"Why are your eyes pure blue?"

"It is the band's aura color. It takes on anything having to do with them. If you obtain magic it will be blue as well."

"What powers do I already have?"

"From the unicorn you took her aura eyes. You didn't get her magic because the bands knew that her's was not right for you. Her type of magic is more having to do with focus than actual power which is not your strong suit and would clash with your personality. From that Big red pony you got strength. From the orange one you got truth-seeking. From the Pegasus you got speed. Now the tree is a different matter. You have its aura, or more specifically life force, now. This means that now you have the abilities of plants in general. You can photosynthesis, regenerate, and you are much more sturdy. However you also absorbed the life force of a dryadic tree, which means you get even more. You can bend plants to your will so long as in doing so you don't hurt an innocent being and you might be able to heal others, I am not for sure yet on that one. All of these will come the most naturally to you and you will most likely master these powers long before the others. You can also use these powers with each other and one other power. That is the downside to the bands. You may only use one power at a time unless you can find a creature that is some sort of combination of two or more distinct creatures whose powers you already have which, while Equestria is diverse, is a challenge since most of the creatures in our world that combine to make the creatures here are not found here. You may switch between powers at will but until you get used to it in the real world it will tire you quickly. That is one of the few things that I suggest you keep the same as the real world while here so it won't surprise you in one of your first few fights. Next question."

"Is there a limit to the amount of powers I can have?"

"Not that I have seen in my brothers, even though only two of them got more than a couple."

"Is there a way to take off the bands?"

"No, they stay with you till you die. Then they wait for a worthy host. Each band has its own agenda. Some want to cause terror while others want to stop it. Some just don't want to be used."

"Do the bands affect my mind at all?" This question's answer frightened me slightly.

"Not really. You will still be you but if you have any physical defects like maybe a crack in the skull they will resolve that. You also think faster now. This change only happens so you can switch between powers with relative mental ease and won't get confused."

"Are the powers classified in any way?" He had a surprised look on his face when I asked him this.

"Actually yes. Power's are classified under either physical, magical, fundamental, or elemental. Magical is a broad category that includes most things that don't fall under the other three. Physical and elemental explain themselves. Fundamental is the most rare. Things like gravity manipulation and electro-magnetism; stuff that alters the fabric of reality basically or pertain to the four fundamental forces of the universe, it is also used to categorize things that affect the bands. None of the other band wearers asked such a question as far as I know. Maybe you aren't a moron like the others." He said with a slight smirk.

"If I was wouldn't that make you moron as well?" This wiped the look of his face.

He started to say something but decided against it.

"Anymore questions?" He said, a little irritated now.

"One more. Why did I get these bands when I got to Equestria? Shouldn't I have found them?"

"Well you see... you coming to Equestria wasn't the thing that caused you to get the bands. You getting the bands is what caused you to come here. They can't exist anywhere else but here and would be useless in our old universe." He said a little sheepishly.

"So I really am stuck here then?"

"Pretty much. Sorry but this Meta-morph chose you to be its host and you don't reject the bands."

"Ok then. That is all the questions I have for now. When do we start training?"

"First we need to lay down some ground rules before we go any further. This Meta-Morph, whose name is Cobalt by the way, is an angelic band. This means that he is against heinous acts. He will try to stop you from using him to hurt others who have done nothing wrong but if you choose to do so then it happens. The only thing that can stop you is yourself or someone or something just as strong as you are. He would prefer it if you would respect his wishes." I nodded my agreement and understanding.

"Good, rule two. You only have a certain amount of usage with these bands at any time. They are like a muscle, the more you use them the stronger they get but they can only handle so much. Cobalt right now is very weak compared to what he could be and you will need to train with him quite a bit to get everything down, so take your time. Don't go off and try to slay a dragon your first week because you will probably lose."

"Third rule. Absorbing powers is draining. You were lucky you absorbed that dryadic tree's aura or else you would be exhausted for a few days. The most per day is two. Go over that and it gets tiring exponentially and if you absorb too many in one day you could very well die."

He saw my confused look and decided to enlighten me. "Think of it this way: each power is a point. The bands can easily hold the first two powers. The third power though, is worth two points then the fourth is worth 4 and the fifth is worth 8. And the bands can only comfortably hold two at a time. Eventually they can't take it anymore and shut down with you going with them. The bands need time to process new powers. You can use a power right after you get it, it just won't be as strong as it will be once it has been processed. The processing happens when you are in here or sleeping." He said.

He waited for me to finish mulling it around and when I finally nodded to him he continued.

"Fourth rule. You can absorb more of a power from its source but this is dangerous and rarely ever works. It is the reason why, when Areta touched your band, you felt immense pain. The bands were trying to absorb more when they already had the maximum. But now you know of this and can set up mental blocks to prevent it from happening by accident."

"Now the last and most important rule. Do not, under any circumstance, touch Cobalt to a satanic Meta-morph. The only equal in our mind that could come close is the power of a supernova. The bands are one of, if not the most, powerful pieces of equipment in this universe and having two opposite pairs connect would literally fuck everyone's shit up, permanently. Although no other bands are active right now I still can't stress this enough. Don't do it. There are still creatures much more powerful than the bands but compare a full-fledged Meta-morph to another piece of equipment and you will see how much more powerful they really are." I nodded once again to show my understanding of the situation.

We sat there for a while. I was thinking about what these bands could do while the other me was thinking about how he could train me.

I snapped out of my little day-dream. "So can we start training now?"

"Sure." He snapped his fingers and the furniture disappeared. He snapped his fingers again and a board came up out of what I was assuming was the ground. On it was a list of my powers each with a bar next to it and a status saying 'Integrated' next to all of them. Some of them like sturdiness and aura eyes were already slightly filled but nowhere near even the quarter mark. I had a lot of work to do.

"By the way what is your name?" I asked realizing yet again that I hadn't asked someone their name upon meeting them.

"You can call me pulse. As in Compulsive." He said while staring at the board.

He snapped his fingers again and a type of console appeared along with another board and another office chair. The second board showed my vitals and had two columns and a bunch of rows on it filled with an assortment of percentages and numbers. Most on the right side had a percentage of zero while most of the left columns rows were filled with numbers and their units. I recognized the unit abbreviations for newtons and pounds per square inch among other things. The rest were filled with my vitals like my stamina and strength. Which had percentages on their right column counterparts.

"First lets work on shifting between different powers. All you have to do is think of the name and you will be able to use it. Alright go!"

I jumped at his shout and thought of the first thing that came to my mind: Speed. I ran not expecting to go from 0 to 60 in about 0.5 seconds. I was off and just ran when all of a sudden I saw the board come up out of nowhere and hit it at about 80 mph.

Pulse started laughing his head off and fell to the ground almost in tears. I got up and walked over to him waiting for him to either pop a lung or calm down. A few minutes later he got up.

"Man that was great. You just disappeared for a second then suddenly I hear a gigantic thud and look back and see your ass on the floor behind the board. I haven't laughed that hard in quite a while. You did do well though. You got to about 83 mph. You will only be able to move that fast in large open areas but at that rate you will still be able to move about two times faster than a regular human in close quarters." He paused for a second then yelled "Strength!"

I quickly thought about strength and my muscles started getting bigger. Almost to twice their regular size. All of a sudden I hear a whistling and look up. I just had enough time to bring my arms up to attempt to catch the car that was falling. I put my arms up but I wasn't any where near strong enough and it basically crushed me. A few seconds later the car disappeared and I stood up feeling fine.

"Okay then, maybe we need to get you a little more efficient with strength. You put up about 350lbs. of resistance. Not nearly enough to stop a car from falling on you but much more than the average human male. Although I would say with your build now that seems a little weak. We definitely have to work on it."

"Regeneration!" He yelled.

"What?" Was all I could say before a gigantic blade came down and into my foot effectively separating everything from my heel. I didn't feel any pain and the severed part faded away. But there was this immense pressure I got in my brain that made it hard for me to focus.

"Come on Sam. There isn't any pain right now but the longer you wait the more pressure builds up." Pulse said in an instructor-esque tone.

I tried with everything I had to focus on my foot being replaced. Eventually my foot started to grow back. When it was done I sighed in relief.

"Good. You seem to have a knack for switching between power's. That should help you get accustomed to switching in the real world. I will need some time to devise other tests right now so come back in a few hours, real-time, and we can continue." He stated. He waved me off and I thought about being back in my real body. I closed my eyes for a few minutes and when I opened them back up I was back in the glade.

Areta had her head on my shoulder and arms wrapped around my left, sleeping. I looked up at the sky and noticed that it was a little past noon. I hadn't realized I was in there for so long.

I gently shook my should trying to wake Areta. Eventually she stirred. She opened her eyes and looked at me. When she realized who woke her she smiled.

"How did it go?" She asked, curious.

"It went pretty well"

I started explaining to her what had happened and about how everything worked to the best of my knowledge.

"Wow so much power in such plain little accessories. I wonder if anything could stop you when you finally get to full power."

"Probably. Pulse did say that there are creatures out there that are far superior to the bands."

"Well lets not think about that right now. You need to eat and I need to stretch my legs." She said as she got up to take a walk.

I got up as well and went to the fire. I lighted it for the third time and started roasting some plants. It wasn't long till they were done. I was almost done eating them when Areta came running out of the forest with four of those ponies behind her. She was yelling Timber wolves. That was when I saw the near army of wolf like creatures running out of the forest.

Areta ran to me and hid behind me while the ponies got to my side. The creatures just streamed out of the forest and formed a circle around us effectively cutting off any escape.

"What the hell did you do?!" I yelled at the group of ponies who had by now, along with me, formed our own circle around Areta. Who looked absolutely terrified.

The orange one, who I recognized from earlier as the one I had fallen on, gave me a quick rundown of the past few hours.

Early this morning Applejack's POV

I had woke up this morning finally feeling better. I could tell I was almost healed and that today was the day for me and the others to go looking for the human.

I got myself presentable and went downstairs. I met up with Big mac and we prepared our supplies for the next few days. We had no idea how far the human had gotten and didn't want to take any chances. We told Granny smith where we were going and what we were doing. We hadn't told Applebloom since we didn't want her and the other crusaders to follow us for whatever reason.

Once we were done packing we said goodbye and left. We headed straight for Twilight's library. We arrived a few minutes later.

I knocked on the door and Twilight answered.

"Good morning." She said a little sleepily.

"Todays the day Twilight. Are you ready to leave?" I asked not entirely sure she had remembered, or packed for that matter, since Spike had left for Canterlot to aid princess Luna with some assignment.

"Yeah I'm ready." She said as she levitated a saddlebag to her and put it on.

"We got one other pony to visit before we set off." I said.

We started walking towards Rainbow's cloud house and once we were there I called up to her.

"Hey Rainbow, we're ready! Let's go!"

"I'm coming, just a sec." Rainbow replied.

A few minutes later she flew down and landed between me and Big mac.

"Let's go." She stated, eager to find the human she had attacked and apologize.

Twilight lit up her horn and set her magic on us looking for any residual magic left there by the human's bands. She eventually found some and cast a tracker spell. Her horn lit up and got brighter when she faced the direction the human was in.

We were all surprised when we noticed that it glowed brightest when she faced the Everfree.

We made our way to the forest which took about an hour because Twilight had forgotten to pack a few things. Eventually we made it to the forest but we just stopped and stared at it, not wanting to go in. I was the first to recover.

"Come on everypony we already wasted enough time. It's an hour to midday and we still have to get through the forest." I said trying to get everypony motivated.

"Applejack's right. The sooner we find the human the sooner we can go home." Rainbow stated. That finally got us all motivated and we set off. We had walked for about an hour when I suddenly smelled something I had hoped to never smell again.

"Anypony else recognize that smell?" I asked, scared. I could tell just from the sheer intensity and how suddenly it appeared that there were a lot. Much more than we could handle right now.

"Yeah, I do." Twilight said trembling.

Suddenly one leaped out followed by about half a dozen more. We all just stared at them. Soon I noticed that we weren't alone. Many more eyes glowed in the dark foliage.

"Guys, we need to run. Fast" I whispered.

Everyone nodded. "On the count of three." a pause "Three!" I yelled and we all took off running. Twilights horn glowing brighter and brighter till we came upon a glad and saw the human with what appeared to be another human running towards him. We ran up to them and formed the circle and the human asked his question.

Present time Sam's POV

"There ya have it" The orange one finished.

"Why are there so many. A pack is only about 5 or 6 together. This looks to be about 40 to 50." The purple one stated.

"It's me. They want me. Ever since my tree died the Timber wolves started gathering from throughout the forest. They want me gone so they can claim this spot in the forest." Areta said urgently.

"Well to get to you they are gonna have to fight me to my last heartbeat." I said protectively.

"Well that's fine and dandy but if you haven't noticed it is 10 to 1 here." The blue one pointed out.

"Then we go down swinging." I said getting my strength ready. Man it was tiring doing this in the real world.

The wolves attacked a few at a time as there wasn't enough room for all of them to attack at once. The other wolves just held a tight circle until it was there turn.

One wolf leaped at me with another right behind it. My mind went into over-drive. I caught the first one out of the air and, using its momentum, spun around slammed it into the other one. I could feel their abilities go into my bands. I felt their names appear in my head. Duplication and Agility.

Three more came using a different tactic. Two went to the sides while one ran down the middle. The one in the middle got to me first and I threw a close-handed slap its way breaking it in mid-air while the other two jumped. I used the momentum from my first slap to continue and obliterate the one on my left. This gave the one of my right an opening and he took it. He landed on me and bit into my shoulder. Good thing my strength increased my durability. Though it still wasn't enough to keep it from piercing the skin. I cried out and grabbed its head and threw it, in one motion, into the crowd destroying two more along with it. That was when I started to get lost in the fight.

I jumped into the crowd of wolves just flailing and went into a sloppy role destroying a few more. I stood up quickly and threw my fist around me in a circle instantly destroying the few who lunged at me. I started running through the crowd with my arms up running into wolf after wolf after wolf. Along the way I could feel them get in a few bites and claws here and there but nothing too major. When I stopped I noticed I had destroyed around half of the pack already.

"These bands are amazing."

I noticed the others weren't doing too well. The orange one was bucking like crazy but was getting tired since only a full buck from her would destroy one and she had to keep doing it just to keep from getting over run. The red one was getting jumped upon every few seconds. They weren't giving him time to buck as once he had gotten one off of his back another one appeared almost out of thin air to take its place. The blue one was laying on the ground several feet away from the fight. She looked like she had a broken wing and one of her front hooves was at a weird angle. She looked to be unconscious. The purple one was blasting away but for some reason the ones she blasted kept coming back together. She was tiring fast. But when I looked at Areta my blood boiled. On top of her was one of the bigger ones. She was trying to hold it off with her arms but she was quickly losing the strength to do so and in a matter of minutes it would clamp its jaws around her neck.

I lost it. I yelled as loud as I could. Changing to speed I zoomed over, picked up the wolf, looked it in its eyes, changed to strength, and chucked it out of the glade.

I went into to a hyper state switching between strength and speed and the newly acquired agility. In a matter of moments all the creatures were destroyed.

I came out of my adrenaline induced hyper state and looked around for Areta. She was by the log of her old tree huddled in the fetal position.

I ran over to her and tapped her on the shoulder.

"It's okay they are all gone now." I said comfortingly. She leaped up and into my arms crying and holding me. I just sat there and comforted her until she calmed down a few minutes later.

The purple one came up to me "We should get out of her, they could reform at anytime."

"I can't go back to the village. I was banished by this large red pony with an orange mane." I said not realizing that who I referred to was the red one with them.

"You mean me." He said, startling me.

Well lets just say I was a little frightened "Look I am not in ponyville and you went near me. I don't want any trouble please just let me and Areta be." I pleaded not wanting another fight after being in one so draining. To be honest at the moment I think a rabbit could take me without a sweat.

"I came here to apologize." He said. My worry being replaced with confusion.

"Why? I landed on your sister while she was doing her job on her farm. I just did what any decent person would do."

"You where in a strange world surrounded by strange creatures, one of whom already attacked you while you tried to help. You didn't know you were on our farm and you went somewhere that you knew you would be uncomfortable with to help my sister. When I first saw you I bucked you out of a window without a second thought or first thought really. I should be the one who is sorry." He stated.

I was about to retort when I heard the purple one speak "Uh everypony... it's back." She said with obvious terror in her voice. The creature was about 12 feet tall with, what appeared to be, ginormous paws. She fired off a bolt of magic but it just bounced off. The orange one was holding the blue one and couldn't do anything. The one I was talking to charged but was swatted away into a tree causing him to fall unconscious.

It lumbered towards me and Areta with a glare that could melt the paint of a wall. I stood up between the thing and Areta knowing that she was its target. It raised its hand and brought it down.

"Fuck my life-" Was all I could get out before it swatted me away as well, clear across the glade.

I landed and rolled violently to a stop on my back. I was dazed and all I felt was pain, I could also taste my blood. Every breath hurt and I knew some ribs were broken. I was lucky he had a paw almost as big as I was or else he probably would have broken my spine as well.

"_Get up dipshit you have some fighting to do." _I heard pulse say.

"I thought you could only warn me of danger." I said to him.

"_I forgot to tell you I can communicate with you while _in_ combat as well._"

"Awesome. Well what do I do?"

"_You fight Sherlock. I thought that would be obvious."_ He stated like he couldn't believe how dumb I was.

"How do you propose I do that?" I asked him.

"_Look at Areta."_ He stated evenly.

I turned my head and all I saw was the beast and Areta. It had backed her into a corner and was getting ready to finish her off, seemingly enjoying his nemesis' downfall.

That pushed me over the edge. I found a new source of power and got up. I turned on the speed and sprinted. I was there in less than a second. I jumped and changed in midair from speed to strength and threw a punch as hard as I could into the beast's shoulder, blowing its arm off of it. I tucked into a roll and stopped next to Areta on my feet.

"Get the ponies out of here. I will buy you some time with tall, dark, and smelly." I said starting to realize how good it felt to taunt my opponent, who by now, had recovered from the loss of its arm.

She ran past it but it knew to keep its gaze on me. If it was going to get to Areta it had to put me 6 feet under.

We were now a good 15 feet apart the beast having staggered away clutching its arm.

It charged and cleared the gap in about three steps and swung its left arm. I caught it much to both our surprise. "Oh man you are so screwed." I said.

I then started turning, dragging the creature with me. I spun faster and faster until it was up off the ground flying through the air. I knew I needed to end this as my new-found energy was fading quickly and the less I had of it the weirder I felt. A few more revolutions and I let go sending it flying over trees. It crashed about 150 ft away, I assumed.

My job done I slumped to the ground. Unconscious, broken, tired, and relieved.

* * *

**A/N: Wow that was the longest one yet by far. It is about 5,500 words. My second highest was half that. This one to be honest was difficult to write, I kept having to take breaks while doing so. I like how this chapter turned out though. I really hope this chapter makes sense, I read it over a few times but there is bound to be something that I left out and my mind just fills it in for me. That is the only problem with proof-reading your own story. You already know everything about it so if you forget to put something in your mind will usually fill it in for you. I would also like to point out that unless it is clearly stated in one of the chapters it is not canon. I thought about this when I was brain-storming ideas for the story since I have, more or less, decided what I want to do with it. The first chapter had some things in it that aren't canon right now since I edited them out. So if some of you who follow this story have read version 1.0 of chapter one then some things might not make all that much sense in future chapters. Yeah I know the swearing basically died out but Sam never really needed to swear until now so that is the reason there has been a lull in it. I didn't use the pony's names because I personally would not remember someone's name after the first time they told me it. Hell, I have been sitting with a dude at lunch for the past few weeks and still don't know his name. I know much of the first half of the chapter was filled with information about the bands but I got creative and didn't want to forget anything so I wrote it down, edited it three or four times for context, and put it in. If you need me to explain anything PM and I will be happy to help. See ya on the flip side.**


	9. Chapter 9: The Deal

Sam's POV

"Hey numbnuts, wake up."

I felt a small kick to my side. I groaned as I sat up and opened my eyes.

"Pulse?"

"The one and only." He said with a bow.

"Am I back in the bands?" I asked noticing my surroundings

"What gave you that impression? The completely white and undefined landscape or that you can see me and are talking to me at the same time." He said with a hint of snark.

"Good point. Now stop being a dick and tell me why." I said, starting to get annoyed by his attitude.

"Well, you retarded monkey-" He started before he saw my glare.

"I'm serious, the reason you are in here is because you were indeed, acting like a mentally handicapped monkey." I waved for him to continue.

"When you fought the combined Timber wolf monster you tapped into your life force, not the bands power. You almost nearly killed yourself in your second, well maybe first, fight. Thus I dub you retarded monkey." He stated with a smile while crossing his arms.

"Well for one YOU are the expert on these things. YOU should have told me what I was doing, you said it yourself as long as I am in combat we can speak freely. I didn't know what I was doing and you egged me on to do it." I said countering him.

"I said fight, I didn't say to do anything else. YOU yourself tapped into your own life force as a power source. You were lucky you finished that fight when you did, any longer and you would have literally burned up." He said defensively.

We argued for a few more minutes about whose fault it was. Eventually we decided to drop it.

"Okay new question, why exactly am I in the bands?" I asked.

"You are healing and will be done in a few hours. When you are unconscious I can turn on certain powers. Right now you are slowly regenerating. You have been unconscious for the past few days in the real world so expect some side effects like hyper-fatigue, memory lapse, paralyzation, and a small cold." He stated with a poker face.

"Dude, what the fuck! I thought you said you were regenerating me!" I shouted angrily at Pulse.

"I can't regenerate your soul moron! Remember you burned most of it up while fighting that abomination of nature. That is the reason for the symptoms. You also not having eaten a meal fit for a human in about a week also contributes to the hyper-fatigue. I suggest when you wake up you get us some protein and actual vegetables and fruit. All you have eaten in the past few days are nutrients ment for a pony and plants our species hasn't eaten on a regular basis for thousands of years." He said getting irritated now.

"Fine. Wait... you said I was eating pony nutrients. What do you mean?" I asked, curious.

"You are in the ponyville hospital hooked up to one of their IV's. The nutrients in it sustain you but all the nutrients you get, mainly from meat and nuts, you haven't been getting much of. Trust me go get some meat like a rabbit or something or if you can't find something they will allow you to eat get some nuts, those should tide you over for the time being."

"Okay then, with that answered give me a rundown of what has happened since the fight."

"When you fell unconscious Areta ran over to you. At first she tried healing you but her magic was never meant for anything more serious than a few cuts and bruises, maybe a sprain if she pumped enough magic in. Eventually the ponies found you. The purple one, whose name I have learned to be Twilight, picked you up with her magic. They then took you and Rainbow dash, the blue one, to ponyville hospital. There Areta told them about your anatomy as best she could but they didn't have the right nutrients and never got around to getting them, the lazy assholes. For the past few days you have been getting healing spells along with me turning on you regeneration. Areta hasn't left your side. Applejack, the one you fell on, wants to speak with you when you finally wake up. Your body will be healed but your mind will be a little fuzzy. The memory lapses should be few and far between and should only last about a day after you wake up. The paralyzation will only be around for about an hour while your regenerated soul tries to get reaccustomed to your body. The cold you will have for a while as that is just a regular cold."

"Is Areta okay?" I asked remembering the reason I fought the creature in the first place.

"She is fine. She had some bruising on her arm from the wolf you threw off her but other then that she came out of that fine."

"Good. I have a question, what would have happened to Areta if I had died?"

"I'm not sure. One of two things could happen: The bands, when they disappear, might still support Areta's life force until she naturally dies but I won't know how she will age if that happens. We still don't know how you will age being connected to her. The second thing that could happen is that she dies."

**Rumble**

"What was that?" I asked.

"Two things. The first is that Cobalt says you will be waking up soon so get ready, the second is that if you and Cobalt become a true team, he will support Areta if you somehow die while she still lives healthily." He told me.

"Cobalt can talk to you?"

"Of course numbnuts, how do you think I know all of this stuff. I am a part of you that manifests inside the bands. Before this I only knew what you knew. Eventually you and Cobalt will be able to talk directly, cutting me out of the picture. But that will only happen when you two become a team. Until then I'm the middle man." He responded with grin.

**RUMBLE**

"Well, looks like it's time for you to wake up. See ya. Really wished I wasn't ya." He stated waving me off as I suddenly closed my eyes.

I opened them to see I was in a hospital room. It looked just like one on earth with white walls and furniture, only meant for a ponies instead of humans. I looked to my right and saw Areta asleep while clutching my arm.

I tried moving it but couldn't. It was then I remembered my conversation with Pulse. "Awesome." I muttered.

"Areta, psst, Areta. Wake up." I whispered. I didn't want to be flooded by ponies coming in and talking me up a wall. I didn't know who would be here but you never know.

With enough motivation she began to wake up. She lifted her head and yawned looking around for the thing that had woken her up. Eventually her eyes locked with mine. She looked a mess with bloodshot eyes, tear marks, and messed up hair. It was still great to see her though.

She shot up and jumped on the bed giving me a gigantic hug nearly breaking my ribs again. Damn this women liked hugs.

"You're awake." She said, more to herself then to me, as she pulled away with tears in her eyes.

"Yeah, it always happens eventually." I said with a smirk.

"You were gone for days. The doctors said the longer you were asleep the less likely that you would wake up." She decided to lay down beside me and hold me. I didn't want to push her away. She cared so much for me already and I didn't want to be mean.

"Yeah I talked to Pulse before I woke up." I started recapping our conversation to her, leaving out the part about the implications of my death.

"Well don't do it again, I thought I was going to lose you." She stated in a strict yet caring tone.

For awhile we just layed there enjoying each others company. Eventually a nurse came in and seeing I was awake, called the doctor who was followed in by Applejack.

"You are very lucky to be alive sir. You had much the same injury Applejack had when you brought her in only with quite a few more broken ribs. You were bleeding heavily internally and your energy reserves were already fairly low. It is a miracle that you have healed so fast."

You don't know the half of it, I thought to myself.

After giving me a few quick tests the doctor left leaving Applejack, Areta, and I alone.

"I will cut to the chase. You know why we were out there, we were looking for you. We wanted, I wanted, to say sorry for putting you through so much trouble and to repay you I would like to ask you if you would like to stay with us till you get back on your feet or find a way home." Applejack said.

I didn't give it a second thought. She was asking me to stay with her free of charge indefinitely. Well maybe not indefinitely, I would be expected to look for a job. I did have one question though.

"Can Areta stay as well? We are kind of a bundle." I said gesturing to Areta who was still laying next to me.

"That would be fine with me. We do have some things to discuss though." Said Applejack.

"What kind of things?"

"Well first off, I know you weren't lying when you told me your story. I can tell any lie from any truth. Because of this my friend Twilight has sent a letter to the princesses I told you about and they will be here once we send a letter to them saying you are ready to talk. Secondly, Applebuck season will be here in a few days and we will have to start getting ready. This means that me and my family won't be around much so you and your marefriend will be on your own for the most part. Thirdly-" She was cut off by myself.

"Woah woah wait. Areta isn't my marefriend, she is just a friend." I stated remembering what it meant from our first discussion.

"Could have fooled me." She said with a smirk while Areta and I blushed.

I cleared my throat "Please, continue"

"Thirdly, Twilight and our friend Pinkie pie think it would be a good idea to introduce you to the town. That's everything" She finished.

"That all seems fine to me. To be honest though I don't need a whole party. I would prefer it to be something small." I didn't like my own birthday party's with my close friends and family let alone an entire town of strangers who at the same time were a different species.

"No can do. Pinkie won't allow it. She doesn't know the meaning of small get together."

"Fine. I think I am ready to meet the princesses." I just wanted to get out of here at this point. The paralyzation was starting to fade and I just wanted to get to Applejack's farm.

"I'll be back in a few minutes with the princesses." She told us as she walked out of the door.

A few minutes later there was a bright flash and before Areta and I were two of the biggest ponies I had seen so far. Each had a horn and wings. The taller one was pure white while the shorter one was a deep blue. They had manes that flowed like air and looked ethereal.

"It is nice to meet you Sam." The white one said to me.

* * *

**A/N: And here is another chapter. The story hit 1000 views a few hours after I posted the previous chapter which is fantastic. When I started this story I didn't think I would get even close to that. Especially within the first 10 days. That is awesome, pure and utter. If I seem to be putting in too much dialogue tell me. I feel like I am but i'm not entirely sure. I forgot to ask last chapter but how did you guys like the action scene? I thought it was okay but I think it could be better. Sam and Areta are getting closer every day. How long till they take the big step? Well they might not get the chance with a new character who I am hoping to introduce in the next 2 or 3 chapters. Yeah I know Pulse is kind of a dick put that is what he represents, Compulsiveness, so he doesn't think things out unless he has to. If his swearing bothers you PM me and I will try to cut down on it. I just realized how over-powered duplication can be so I thought up a way to solve it so don't worry, there won't be 25 Sams running around with all of the powers. See ya on the flip side.**


	10. Chapter 10: Transitions

Sam's POV

"At some point my suspension of disbelief is just going to flip me the bird and leave, if stuff like this keeps happening." I said as I stared in near disbelief at the, who I assumed to be, the princesses while at the same time trying to nudge Areta off the bed and trying to get out of the bed myself to show some respect to the near all-powerful rulers. That is until I realized that pony society doesn't have medical gowns suited for my needs. So I opted to stay under the sheet.

The blue one just cocked an eyebrow at me in a questioning look. After a few seconds she dropped it to reveal, much to my surprise, a slight glare.

"I beg your pardon?" Celestia asked, confused by statement.

"Nothing your majesty. I would get up and bow to you except that this sheet is the only thing keeping myself from the world if you get my meaning." I stated. I felt completely awkward and, once I noticed it, surprised that they just popped in. Equestria seemed to be really lax on a lot of things.

"I am afraid not Sam."

"How do I explain this?" I thought for a few moments until I thought of what I wanted to say "In my society you don't go around showing your personal baby maker to the rest of the world."

Realization dawned on her and I gotta give her credit she didn't blush like most would. Though that wasn't the case for her sister.

"Well **Hmhmm **I understand. My name is Celestia and this here is my sister Luna."

"Hello Celestia, Luna." I said as more of a formality than anything else. Celestia returned my greeting with a nod and smile while Luna scowled slightly and not much else.

"Is there something troubling you princess?" I directed towards Luna.

Luna said something to her sister who whispered back, they kept this up for a few more minutes before Luna teleported away with a pop.

I raised my brow in a questioning way much the same way Celestia did earlier.

"Luna is... troubled by your appearance. You bear an uncanny resemblance to one adversary that we could not defeat on our own or with the elements. It does not help that you seem to hold bands of power as well." She said trying to cover for her sister.

"From what I have heard the elements are supposed to be all-powerful right? How could you not defeat an enemy with them?" I asked, legitimately curious.

"No doubt having a dryad by your side you know the tale of the band's history?"

"I do."

"Well there is more to it. At one point my sister and I tried to stop the evil one but we failed. The bands are the ultimate tool and his were just too powerful for the elements. We also could not stop him with our regular magic. Luna has feared that someone like him would return someday with the same abilities. It just so happens that, physically, you two are near identical."

"That troubles me." I told her, realizing what the implications of me arriving in this world truly were.

If bands could get so powerful enough as a tool that they supercede the elements I could be in hot water if I wasn't careful about the way I handled this. Especially if another wearer were to appear who could get stronger than I could with a skewed morality or some sort of complex.

"I know of at least one thing that differs us from each other princess." I said.

"And what pray tell, is that?" She said, interested to hear my response.

"I won't become obsessed with power. I will protect and defend where needed. I will live in Ponyville, get a job, and eventually a house. I may not ever have a family again but I can have friends. I will prove my worth to you and princess Luna in due time. For now I would like to discuss any matters you had concerning me." I stated with fierce determination. If I had payed a little more attention I would have seen Celestia dart her eyes to Areta who was blushing when I talked about family.

Celestia's face remained neutral. "I can see you are determined but actions speak louder than words and only time will tell what kind of wearer you are. Applejack has told me about the living arrangements you have made with her. I expect you to hold up your end of the bargain as well." She glared at me as she said that last part.

"I wouldn't think otherwise princess." Holding up my hands for emphasise

She continued "Good. Once a month you will report to Canterlot with the element bearers and we will have a discussion about your time here. That is all I have to discuss with you. There was more but it seems that it has already been taken care. I bid you farewell Sam." With that her horn glowed and she vanished from sight.

I let out a slight breath, afraid of how the ruler would deal with me. Honestly, I thought that she would do a lot more and ask more than one question, especially ones that actually pertained to my being here. I decided to put it aside for now and focus on my new task: getting to the farm.

"Areta could you hand me my clothes?" I asked her, gesturing to the garments on the chair in the corner.

She got up with a nod and handed them to me. She then left the room to give me privacy. I put on the clothes that I could see had been recently washed and repaired. Good thing too since they were starting to smell and I was pretty sure that the wolves did a number on them. I donned my, now fitted, undergarments, green T-shirt, khaki cargo shorts, and beach sandals. I would need to get new clothes made by someone in town if I didn't want to walk around the apple house naked while my clothes were being washed as well as thank the pony who repaired and fitted them for me. That was until I realized that they would have had to have taken my measurements while I was unconscious which did not please me.

Once I was done, I left the room and starting wandering around the hospital. I eventually found a nurse who pointed out that I could have easily called for an escort and that the stairs were at the end of the hallway I was in, it would be an understatement that I was embarrassed by my own unrestfulness and stupidity.

I walked down the stairs and went to check out. I had to sign my self out and when I was done with that found Areta and Applejack talking to each other. When they saw me approach they quickly put an end to their conversation with Areta looking away and Applejack giving me a wierd look. I gave her a questioning one of my own but she chose to ignore it which in turn prompted me to drop it for the time being.

"So girls shall we head out? I am dying to finally sleep in a comfortable bed of my own free will." I told them. Applejack nodded her head and rose along with Areta. "Follow me. It's a few minutes walk. Is that alright?" She asked in more of a questioning tone then a concerned one. Maybe these people weren't as naïve as I originally thought.

"It's fine by me. Right now I feel like I could do a marathon." Nope.

"Alright then."

We then spent the next few minutes and the entire walk to the farm, completely silent until we arrived.

"Well here it is. I will go in and let the family know you are here. You already met Big mac but you still have to meet my sister and granny." She followed this up with walking into the house. Areta and I just waited for a few minutes as she rounded up her family.

Eventually they filed out and stood facing us. First was who I assumed was the granny and next to her was Big mac, followed by Applejack, and lastly by a really small one with a bow in her hair.

"Sam, Areta, this here is Granny smith and Applebloom. You already know Big mac." She said as she pointed to her family members.

"Hello, like Applejack said my name is Sam and this here is my close friend Areta. We will be staying with you for the time being until I am on my feet. It is nice to meet you all." I bowed slightly. Have to give the little one and the grandmother credit, they didn't bat an eyelash at me. This town's total number of daily craps given must be incredibly low and shared between them all. So far not many of these ponies seem to care all that much by two mysterious creatures, who I assumed they have never seen anything like before, roaming around their town with basic free rein.

They greeted me in turn.

Applejack saw my slightly baffled look and decided to answer my thoughts "They already know what happened Sam."

"That explains some things." I told her.

The family dispersed and Applejack led Areta and I upstairs to our rooms. That is until I realized that we would have only one room between the two of us and in that one room was only one bed. Granted it was big enough for someone of my height and was wide enough to comfortably hold the both of us. I admit that I liked sleeping with someone I do need my privacy. I guess I had to just hold out till I could afford a two bedroom anything.

"At the risk of sounding ungrateful, why is there only one bed?" I said voicing the least ungrateful question in my head at the moment.

"That is the only bed that could fit ya." She said with a combination of a scowl and a knowing face which looked absolutely ridiculous.

"I didn't mean to sound ungrateful but it's just... nevermind it will do, I shouldn't complain." I said trying to diffused the growing tension. Applejack let it go for now or at least I hoped she did.

"It is getting late Sam, we should turn in for the night." Areta said. I realized that the sun was setting. I wasn't all that tired but I could force myself asleep. I assumed that Areta wouldn't go to bed alone and she looked fairly tired.

"You're right. Lets turn in." Applejack left and closed the door on her way out. I decided to take off my shirt knowing I would be more comfortable without it.

This didn't seem to sit well with Areta though "Why are you taking off your clothing?!" she all but yelled at me. I just stood there in shock at her sudden outburst. I eventually regained my composure enough to respond to her.

"I was just getting comfortable is all. If it bothers you so much I would be happy to put it back on." I didn't want to make her uncomfortable.

She eventually replied but not before studying my exposed torso "The process of a man taking his shirt off in front of a dryad sends very... sensual signals." She said with a blush.

It took my a moment to realize what she meant and my eyebrows shot up, almost comically, in shock at this revelation. I quickly donned my shirt while apologizing to her. To be honest she didn't seem all that mad about it after getting over her initial shock. She almost seemed like she didn't want me to put my shirt back on, though I chalked that up to me just looking to deeply into things and shrugged it off. We layed down in the bed only instead of together we were apart with our backs to each other. I got lucky twice, I wasn't going to go for three. I was about to fall asleep until something hit me.

"Areta?"

"Yeah?"

"You said that dryads are all female, what did you mean by male? Not to mention how do you even discern yourself as female if dryads only have one gender and how do you know about males in general?" I assumed that the reason she had breasts would also be answered.

These questions seemed to shock her and it took her a few minutes for her to respond.

"Well you see...um... dryads and the band-wearers species used to be very... close."

Realization dawned on me by what she meant after a few moments of pondering her word choice. But I had to make sure.

"What do you mean by close?"

"My sisters, who were alive while they roamed Equestria, told me that we used to... seduce males for better and stronger children for both species, most of this we did without them noticing." I could all but hear her blush while she spoke.

"That's... interesting." I stated not knowing what else I could say. She didn't speak either probably due to her just wanting to end this conversation and go to sleep much like I did now regretting having all the answers to my questions.

Eventually we both fell asleep.

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**A/N: I am starting to come up with ideas for other stories that I want to write but don't know if it would be the best thing for me to start something else while doing this. If you guys do want me to try my hand with another story just PM me and I will give it more thought. Today's story has more of a solemn origin to it. I started writing it down thursday but didn't finish it until today during lunch at school. The only reason I could though was because we were on lockdown. Apparently there had been a shooting across the street at a pick'n'save involving some of my classmates. We were in the cafeteria for about an hour and a half until they sent us home around 11:30. I kept myself occupied by quickly finishing up the story while my friends played with my Uno cards I kept in my backpack for downtime in class. Enough with the origin I have other things to discuss. Ohh scandalous dryads, which is how they kind of were in greek mythology. I am going to have to plan out my timeline for the next few chapters accordingly since I don't remember how long applebuck season lasts and I need to time the arrival of newest character and another event that I have in mind which can't happen during applebuck season since it would be extremely detrimental to both. I want to do more action soon and have a scene that I want that will quell this urge. It doesn't help though that I have been obsessed with 'I need a hero', mostly the version from shrek 2 which I like more to be honest. I also have heard it enough times that I can play it in my head so that isn't helping me either. See ya on the flip side.**


	11. Chapter 11: The clash of Women

**A/N: I have no idea how long Applebuck season lasts and I can't find the episode online. Where I originally viewed it has been deleted and I don't feel like waiting for it to air for the next chapter so I am going to assume it is about 4 weeks but will be shorter.**

Sam's POV

The past week had passed by with quite a bit happening. Applebuck season had begun literally the day after we arrived at the farm and we had decided to help, effectively cutting the time in half with my speed and Areta's natural friendship of the vegetative kind. I also got a lot of practice in while doing this so it was a win-win for me. I had actually found a decent job in town as a general handy-man, I could credit my innate ability to fix anything under the sun to my grandfather. It turns out unicorn magic isn't nearly as dexterous as my hands were. Although some unicorn's like Rarity were much more nimble with their magic than regular unicorn's, there were very few of them in Ponyville, not to mention that I could work at half the rates and still make a lot of bits. I would be able to rent out a small house in a matter of two weeks if I kept getting steady work which came in by the truckloads. I was backed up for the next two months, good thing I was my own boss, though I was only paid when I completed a job. I had also met, in my book, the infamous Pinkie pie. She forced me to come to her 'welcome to ponyville' party and then proceeded to keep me there against my will. I am not a man of social events. The party served its purpose and formally introduced me to the town, which went over much as I would have expected, nobody cared and just went on with their day. Sometimes I think the only people who do anything in this town besides their job are the element bearers and their family's. Rainbow dash had also healed well and was in her cloud home in bed waiting till she could take off the casts. We also learned the hard way what happens when Areta and I are separated by long distances. Apparently if we are more than 10 miles apart we get exponentially weaker and hypothetically, if we got far enough away from each other, dye. Today, because the Apple family was so ahead of schedule, Areta and I were promptly kicked off the farm and told to socialize with everypony. Needless to say we had the biggest surprise of our lives, meeting each other excluded.

We were walking down a road near the western edge of town until we heard a scream which in and of itself caused slighty nostalgic memories to fill my head. I immediately took off, being the good-natured and oh so generous guy I was. The weird thing was I felt like I recognized that scream which was wierd since the only other person or pony I had heard scream was right behind me.

Within a matter of moments we found the source of a scream. It was another human. She, I could tell it was a she from the long blonde hair, was surrounded by a group of ponies just staring at her like she was out of her mind. Eventually I recognized her and it hit me like a stone.

"Emily? Emily!" I shouted.

Her eyes locked with mine and I knew who it was, my sister.

"Sam?! Where are we? Why am I being stared at by mutated multicolored horses?" She asked me frantically.

"It is alright Emily. They won't hurt you, I promise." I assured my sister.

"Alright everypony move along, there is nothing to see here." I shouted to the gathered audience. Who eventually dispersed leaving just Areta, Emily, and I.

Emily ran up and grasped me in a bear hug that crushed my lungs. Which I reciprocated with vigor.

"Sam, who is this?" Areta asked me. I thought I detected a hint of jealousy in her voice.

"Areta, this is Emily, my sister. Emily this is Areta, my new, permanent, life-long best friend."

"What?" She asked in confusion.

"I will explain later. Right now we need to get you to sweet Apple acres. Areta, I need you to tell Twilight about what happened so she can tell the princesses. If you want to, tell the others as well." She nodded and ran off.

Emily and I started walking and along the way I explained to her what happened to me. She was surprised and worried about the bands and the few occurences of violence that I had been in but, as was her nature, she took it in stride. Though she was dumbfounded that I had been here for two weeks. In our world it had been only a few hours and she went to investigate the park when I texted her, which reminded me I had a phone this whole time.

She told me that she had gone to the park searching for me and could feel something very much akin to what I had felt. After exploring for a few hours, she eventually found a glade with nothing in it. She walked into the center of it and that is when she transported here much the same way I did. She too, looked noticeably different. Her hair was a more golden shade of yellow and she was slightly taller. Beauty-wise, she had jumped up from what my friends would call a six to what I assumed they would call a nine, overall, she pointed out the same thing for me when I brought it up about her. The only thing that differed in our changes was that she didn't have any bands which I was thankful for since my sister could harbor a grudge and had a fairly short temper for some things to boot. I had to explain to her multiple times about Areta's behavior towards me. When she finally seemed to accept what I told her she scowled slightly but returned to her regular neutral expression soon afterwards.

We got to the farmhouse about a minute after I finished explaining everything to her. We found Applejack in the kitchen preparing lunch and I explained to her who Emily was and how she came to be here. She said she would love for her to stay yet she didn't have any beds that she could use. I just decided I would sleep on the floor and let Areta and my sister sleep on the bed. Emily objected to this profusely and insisted that Areta should sleep on the floor of all things. This made me suspicious that she didn't like Areta but I ignored it for the time being, if anything were to happen I could easily force them to make nice.

Areta arrived about an hour later. She told us that everyone knew and that they would be coming over tomorrow to meet Emily. For the rest of the day we just relaxed. We didn't say much to each other, which I was glad for since I didn't feel like talking anymore today after having to explain so much.

Night rolled around eventually and we decided to go to bed. Applejack handed me some blankets and a spare pillow which I messily arranged on the floor and promptly passed out on, tired from the day. Areta and my sister, reluctantly, got into the bed together.

Areta's POV

"Areta, are you still awake?" I heard Emily ask from behind me.

"Yeah." I responded, unsure what she wanted.

"Sam, are you still awake?" When she didn't hear anything she muttered "Good."

"Areta we need to talk." She said as I heard her sit up. I did the same and faced her. She had a slightly angry expression on her face.

"About what?"

"Sam."

"What about him?" I was starting to get worried about this.

"I want you to stay away from him, at least romantically. Stop teasing him. I know you like him so don't deny it, I can see it in your eyes whenever you look at him."

"What gives you the right to forbid me from seeing him, you are just his sister." I answered, offended that she would do such a thing and a little surprised that she was much more observant of body language then her brother.

"That is exactly what gives me that right. I am his sister so I protect him from bad women and boy has he had some bad women in his life. I assume he told you about his past relationships?"

"He told me he hasn't had one longer than a few weeks." I said a little warily.

"That is because he only attracts skanks and other unsavory women who will just use him. The only reason he isn't a shivering pile of depression is because I protected him from them and I will be damned if you ruin my perfect streak or my brother. He is the only family I have left and if you think you can take him away from me you have another thing coming." She said in a harsh whisper.

"I am not like those other women. We are bonded together for the rest of our lives, we might as well make the most of it. And you can't stop me either. You may be his sister but I am his new partner in life." I defended myself.

"Girls?" Sam said sleepily as he raised his head to look at us. "Is everything alright?"

"Everything is fine Sam. Go back to bed." Emily cooed to her brother. We waited a few minutes to continue speaking to make sure he was a sleep. When his breathing deepened we continued.

"I don't know that and you don't know that. My brother is a sensitive man when it comes to romance. He doesn't like being touched by anyone other then me and his best friend back home. Didn't you ever notice how uncomfortable he was when you forced yourself on him?" She shot back at me.

"I... **sigh** yes I did. But I just thought that it was a phase." I said as realization dawned on me. If I didn't stop touching him so much I risked alienating him.

"No it isn't. He needs to know you much better before he is completely comfortable with physical contact." She said before taking a deep breath to calm herself.

"Leave my brother alone. You can be friends but I forbid anything else." She said with finality, signaling that this conversation was over.

"Fine." I grumpily said to her. I wasn't going to stop trying but I knew that I would have to be cautious around Emily if I ever wanted our relationship to go anywhere. I also knew that if I did want to have a relationship with Sam I would either need to get Emily out of his life or get her blessing. Neither of which was going to be easy and the latter being near impossible at this moment.

I decided to sleep on it. I knew that if I harmed Emily, Sam would never speak to me again so that was out of the question, not to mention that I didn't believe in petty violence. I knew anything else was fair game though.

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**A/N: Just like I based Sam on my self physically, I based Emily on my real sister physically. I also based Emily's personality on my sister. Basically I put my sister in the story. The relationship in the story is the same one in the real world, highly close knit and protective. We are actually a decade younger then Sam and Emily who are 6 years apart. That being said I don't actually know what my sister would look like as a woman so you can envision her however you would like, just don't be perverts about it. In the real world we look quite similar, as siblings usually are, so if you want just picture a feminine Sam with long blonde hair. My sister's favorite color is blue and she likes wearing jean shorts so make of that what you will since I don't do clothes very well. See ya on the flip side.**


	12. Chapter 12: Handyman Mishaps

Sam's POV

The next morning was a little odd. Areta and Emily kept glancing at each other with scowls on their faces. Each time I got near to one of them the other would give the other a glare when they thought I wasn't looking. I knew something was up but I didn't have time to deal with it right now, I would have to deal with it tomorrow since I had to get to work on a few projects around town as well.

Twilight and the others came over around 10 and we sat down in the Apple family's living room. The other pony, I think her name was Fluttershy, sat as far away from me as she could, I was pretty sure she didn't like me or at the very least disapproved of me. It probably didn't help that the one of the first few things that I did the day after I got to the Apple house was ask if she had any meat that I could have. She looked horrified and started acting really distant. I pointed out that she did take care of carnivores and omnivores but she said that they get their own food. I sat on the floor with Rainbow and Applejack while Pinkie, Twilight, and Rarity sat on the love seat and Fluttershy sat in Granny smith's chair. Areta and Emily were nowhere to be found so I just decided to let it go, they both knew of the meeting.

"Where is your sister Sam?" Twilight asked of me. Well I felt dumb.

"Oh yeah. Sorry I forgot that this was for you girls to meet her. I will go find her, be right back." I said as I got up to find my sister. I found her a few minutes later in the kitchen talking with Applebloom. We returned to the girls and she sat by me.

"Everyone this is my sister, Emily. Emily this is Twilight, Rainbow dash, Rarity, Pinkie pie, Fluttershy, and you already know Applejack." I pointed to each of them, they all said a mix of greetings and pleasantries while Emily just said a quick hello.

"Sam, I also called this meeting for another reason. We will be going to Canterlot for the week to discuss some things with the princesses." Twilight told me. She didn't look me in the eye when she told me this so I knew something was up.

"It is about me and Emily isn't it?" I said with a raised eyebrow and accusatory tone

"Well...you see..."

"Spit it out Twilight." I said impatiently.

"Yes, but that is all I will tell you at the moment. We will be leaving in about an hour so this is goodbye for now." She said with finality.

"What about the farm, is Big mac enough to handle the orchard?"

"We are so ahead of schedule it won't matter. In fact it is because we are so ahead that we are able to go on the trip in the first place." Applejack responded.

"Well okay then." I got up to leave sensing that the conversation was over. I needed to get to work.

"Where are you going?" Asked Rainbow.

"Work. I have a lot to do today and I want to get started." I answered her.

"Alright." She said, slightly disappointed. Man people here are kind of clingy.

"If you need us Sam, Spike will still be at the library." I nodded to Twilight.

"Goodbye everyone." I called to them as I walked out the door.

"Bye" I heard them call.

My list for the day included an assortment of different jobs.

A pony named Bon Bon needed her sink unclogged and needs to have the piping replaced. Dr. Whooves needs an assistant for an hour or two with a project he is working on. Carrot top needs someone to fix up her gardening equipment. Cherilee needs someone to repair the mechanism that rings the bell. And last but definitely not least are two ponies by the names of Aloe and Lotus who need help with quite a few things around their spa, apparently the hot tub has a leak, a few of their tables and lounge chairs are leaning and wiggle, and finally they need someone to help them finish building a second hot tub.

Lets just say that I had some problems along the way. At Bon Bons I had asked her to turn off the water to the sink but she turned the wrong valve and when I took off the first piece of pipe off I got doused with water. I eventually fixed it and cleaned up. Dr. Whooves apparently needed a test dummy which I don't care to elaborate on, lets just say it didn't end well, I will have a burn mark forever on my left buttcheek now. Carrot top's farming equipment was badly out of shape, so much so that I was surprised that she could even still use it. I got to work sharpening the blades for the individual tools and did the equivalent to a tune up for the rest of her things, to bad on the last piece of equipment I sliced my hand open. I got it bandaged up and set my regeneration on. I had hoped it would heal by the time I got back. Cherilee's school bell was a nightmare. I couldn't find what was wrong with it for the life of me, all I knew was that it wouldn't ring. I had to take the entire thing apart and experiment with each section of it to find the missing part. Apparently one of the gears, somehow, got worn down and wouldn't turn properly. After I found it I had to put the entire thing back together from memory with Cherilee's help. That took about 2 to 3 hours total. Lastly I went to the spa. Let's just say that for masseuse's they aren't very graceful. While I was fixing the hot tub I asked one of them to hand me a socket wrench. The pink one picked up a hammer and slapped it into my palm giving me the shock of a lifetime and hurting me hand quite a bit as that was the hand that I had sliced open earlier that day. Eventually I got it fixed up, repaired the furniture and built the second hot tub but not after being tripped a few times by the two, apparently, sisters who weren't very mindful of their surroundings.

It was about 4 in the afternoon by the time I got finished with everything. I did it surprisingly quickly all things considered. I had stopped to check my hand on the way out of the spa and was happy that it had healed nicely, you would only notice the scar if you were looking right at my hand. I was headed home when Pulse decided to drop in.

"_We have a problem." _Pulse said urgently.

"What are you talking ab-"

**Raaaaaawwwwwwwrrrrrrrrrrrr**

_"That problem."_

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**A/N: What roared? Will Sam be able to protect Ponyville? Will Sam ever catch a break for more than a day or two? All will be answered next chapter. (The answer to the last question is probably not). See ya on the flip side.**


	13. Chapter 13: Draconian beat Down

**Sam's POV**

I looked over to see what had made the screech and was surprised to see a dragon towering above the southern end of town.

"Pulse, why the hell is there a dragon in the village?" I growled at him.

"_How the hell should I know? I live in YOUR head remember, I only know things that you perceive, know, and what I am told by Cobalt._" He shot right back.

"Okay then. Lets go kick some draconian tail." I said as I took off with speed.

I reached the dragon in seconds. I had to get through crowds of ponies to reach the dragon and when I got to him I noticed that he was destroying houses. I knew I needed to get him away from Ponyville lest he level the whole town.

"He salamander! Wanna play?!" I yelled up to him. He looked down and when he saw me his gaze turned from one of boredom to one of pure hatred. He screeched again and brought his claw down.

"Maybe that was a bad idea." I told myself as I sped away from it and out-of-town. Much to my surprise the dragon could follow my movements, just not react quick enough.

"Pulse, is duplication ready?" I asked him, knowing that to win I would need a little help.

"Yeah but don't you remember what it does? It drains you constantly. You have maybe five minutes of juice before you peeter out and drop unconscious. Not to mention you only have as many clones as powers and that while each clone can use the powers assigned to it simultaneously, they are halved."

"You don't have to remind me. When I sped away I managed to touch him and got his fire breath. How well do you think that will go with flight?"

"_I'd say pretty well actually. Why?... Oh. That might work. Go for it."_

I had acquired flight while I was helping a pegasus with his new shed. I had needed it and Fluttershy wouldn't let me touch her. I asked him for it as payment and he agreed. The only thing was, was that I actually grew wings and if they were too damaged at the end of a battle then they could be locked down to me while they heal.

I engaged duplication, assigning flight and fire breath to one clone and the other strength and speed. The good thing about duplication was that, if used correctly, it would allow me to use all my powers at once but the more clones I had the more it drained on me and so far I had only been able to duplicate myself into two copies.

I went into a state of where I was watching over my clones but also was experiencing everything they did. While like this either clone could take a fatal blow but one of them would have to survive the fight for me to survive. This was the moment where Pulse was the most useful. He helped me coordinate everything, without him this wouldn't be possible.

Avian: I flew up to meet the dragon. The plan was for me to distract it while strength went in for the kill.

I flew up around and started circling the dragon. My fire breath was extremely hot and I couldn't wait to see what it could do at full power. I might even be able to hurt the dragon right now if I put enough power into it but I didn't have many reserves. Most of the energy was going to Strength to make sure he had as much power as possible.

I started breathing my flame and stopping the dragon in its tracks. It didn't have wings which I was glad for but I myself could only go so high.

Strength: While Avian was distracting the dragon I rushed forward and around it. My job was to find a weak spot. Sam wanted this to be as quick and painless as possible, in other words he didn't want to dick around.

I was having a hard time finding one though. This dragon was built tough, we might have to just beat it to death. I relayed this back to Pulse who relayed it back to...to..., that's when I heard it. Avian's screech.

The dragon had come up with a new tactic, to use its own fire. Apparently Avian and him had gotten into a dick measuring contest with the flames and he lost. I saw Avian fall out of the sky and dissipate returning to me. I could feel Pulse and Sam do the same.

"Shit, what do we do now!" I asked pulse. My energy was low, Strength had taken too long finding that weak spot and with Avian using up power like that I was low.

I decided to do what Strength had suggested, beat the crap out of it.

I sped from the dragon before it could catch me in its maw.

I turned around quickly and launched myself at it fist out. It twisted around and whipped me with its tail sending me into a tree. I got up and tried a different approach, I turned on speed again and went around to the creatures back. Strength may have been honorable but I wasn't. I saw what I was looking for and launched myself again, straight into its baby storage facility.

The dragon let out a loud yowl and turned around. Seeing where its prey had ended up and putting two and two together, it decided to crush me. It brought its paw down and all I could do was turn on strength and hold it. I was too tired for speed.

I quickly started losing ground and eventually, with one final push, the dragon crushed me. It brought its paw up again and crushed me. It repeated this action time and time again until eventually it was struck by a golden beam. I looked to the sky and saw Celestia flying in the air with an expression I couldn't read from this distance.

With the town in good hands I passed out.

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**A/N: I am really sorry everyone for not updating this story. I have been really preoccupied with my second story and have been compelled to write it. To be honest, I like this ones concept much more but I like my second story more overall. This was just to let you guys know that I haven't abandoned the story. It will continue don't worry. My second story I already have the ending for, and even though that won't be for a while, I will still be able to get a new chapter out everyday that I feel like writing. The only thing I haven't figured out is who the love interest is, once I do that I will have almost, if not all, of the story mapped out. See ya on the flip side.**


	14. Chapter 14: Revelations

**A/N: 'A new start' is finally finished people. I took a little break and will now be focusing on this story until its end. I am pretty sure I know what to do with the rest of it and hopefully end it around where I ended my last story, around chapter 30 or earlier. Also, excuse me if I accidentally mix up names. I almost switched Sam and Caine multiple times in the first few chapters of 'A new start' and I can see myself doing it in the following chapters.**

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**Sam's POV**

I woke up with a splitting headache and my left arm in a cast. I was in the bedroom Areta, Emily, and I shared. I looked around the room for any sign of someone but couldn't find one. The only thing new in the room was a large tub that didn't appear to be filled with anything but steaming water. I attempted to get out of bed but failed miserably, managing only to plant my face on the hard, wooden floor.

I looked over to see my left foot in a cast as well. I looked around for crutches but couldn't find any.

"Pulse, what happened?" I asked him.

"_Well let's see, you got served by a dragon, fixed up by some pony doctors after you were carried to the hospital, brought back here and have been sleeping peacefully in a coma like state for the past week. Also, regeneration doesn't seem to be working and Cobalt is agitated about something, so be careful if we have to fight before he gets over it." _He responded.

"Well isn't that swell." I said to myself, sarcastically.

I tried to get up once more but I just couldn't. My arm was utterly useless in helping to get me up and the few times I managed to actually stand, my foot hurt too much to be used for more than a second.

I finally managed to get back on the bed and wait for someone to come and check on me. I didn't feel liking yelling in a house that wasn't my own. It felt rude.

Eventually, though, someone did come and I was relieved to see Areta, unharmed, stroll in with a bucket of water and a sponge.

"Hello Areta." I said casually, not wanting to startle her. It didn't work and she screeched and dropped the bucket, spilling water everywhere.

She eventually got over her surprise and she quickly enveloped me in a bone crushing hug, getting my arm in there as well.

"Areta...broken...arm." I managed to choke out. She quickly broke the embrace and apologized.

"It's fine. Why were you carrying a bucket full of water? Were you about to wash the windows?" I asked of her. I glanced over to the windows to see how dirty they were but they seemed fine to me.

"They aren't that dirty." I stated. I looked back over at her and she was blushing profusely.

I cocked an eyebrow and motioned for her to tell me.

"Well, you see. You were starting to stink and the hospital didn't do a very good job cleaning you. Your sister wouldn't even give a thought about it and none of the ponies can scrub hard enough to clean you. So it was left to me." She answered almost in a whisper. It only took me a millisecond to realize what she was talking about and I quickly became very hot with embarrassment.

"Well then, thank you for your concern, but now that I am awake I think I can do it myself." I told her. Her blush didn't look like it was going to go away any time soon.

"I will need something to cover the casts, though." I told her.

"They are water proof." She said. I gave her a quick nod and she left. I started thinking about how I was going to do this.

I decided to take off my clothes first, and, after struggling a bit, managed to strip. Afterwards, I tried walking but fell flat on my face once more. Let me tell you, falling naked hurts a lot more than falling clothed. I eventually made it to the tub on the, now dry, floor, which really hurt. It felt like a gymnasium's floor to say the least. I didn't even know how the floor was already dry but I was too preoccupied at the moment to think on it further. I eventually made it to the tub but realized I didn't have the sponge. I cursed myself and made the trip to it and back.

I eventually managed to make it into the, now ice cold, water. I started scrubbing myself with the sponge and finished sometime later.

I got out of the tub and managed to crawl my way back to the bed after I dried off. I found some clothes in the bedside dresser and, after struggling profusely, managed to get them all on and comfortable. I felt like I had just run a marathon, I was so tired.

I looked outside to see the sun high in the sky out over Ponyville. The town looked like nothing had even happened. I still had a lot of questions and wanted answers but that would have to wait.

Eventually, I heard a knock on the door and voice. "Are you decent?"

"I am, come in Emily." I called to her.

She opened the door and rushed towards me. "Oh thank God, you are all right. I thought I lost you." She hugged me and decided to sit on my lap like she used to do when we were younger. "When they brought you to the hospital you looked like you were already dead. I was so scared." She had tears in her eyes. I went to comfort her but she stopped me. "Don't you ever do something so stupid ever again! Do you hear me?!" She said as she slapped my uninjured arm's shoulder really hard.

"I got it, I got it." I told her while rubbing it.

"Good. Celestia would like to speak to you first thing in the morning. For now, I'll help you downstairs and you can catch up with everyone." She said.

She got off of my lap and helped me up. With her supporting me, we made our way out of the room and down the stairs, to the Apple's sitting room. The girls and the Apple family, along with Areta, were all seated and I was put into a chair. Emily sat on the arm while everyone looked at me with questioning stares.

"What?" I asked, curious as to why they were all staring like that at me.

Applejack spoke up. "We were just curious as to why all this happened." She didn't sound curious. More like she was fishing for something.

"What makes you think I know?" I responded.

Twilight spoke this time. "Well, you were the one who went after the dragon and held it off long enough for princess Celestia to arrive."

"I only did that because I was trying to protect the town." I told her.

Rarity stood up next. "Is that the only reason? You didn't, say, bring the dragon here for some sort of glorified stunt?"

"Wait, what?! Why would I do that? _How_ would I do that?" I shot at her, just managing to keep my anger in check.

Rainbow Dash was apparently next. "Well you are a freaky alien with magical super weapons." She said as she got into my face. I looked over to Emily and Areta who were both looking away, as if in shame.

"I can't believe this! You all think I lured a _dragon _here, just so I could almost _die _trying to protect you all from it? Are you insane!" I retorted. I couldn't believe they didn't trust me. I honestly had thought we were all past this nonsense but, apparently, I was wrong.

I stood up, painfully, and looked out over all of them. "I can't believe you all. I tried to protect this town from something dangerous. I risked my life for all of you when I could have easily gotten Areta, Emily, and I out of this town faster than you can say danger. But maybe that was a mistake. If you don't trust me then we'll be leaving. So much for so called 'friends'." I started making my way slowly past them.

I looked back at Areta and Emily. "Aren't you girls coming?" I asked. They looked up at me with blank expressions. The others had the same looks, no emotion. "No" They said in unison.

I turned away and started to make my way out of the house. I started following a wandering path and walked until sunset. I looked around to see I was still in the orchard.

"Well, isn't this grand." I said as I plopped myself down to lean on a tree. I started trying to activate regeneration because my ankle felt like it was being torn off, but it wouldn't work. I decided to just breath through the pain until it started to wane to a dull throbbing.

"What are we going to do Pulse? We're back to square one." I asked him. He didn't answer. "Pulse?"

_"Hmm? Sorry, something just didn't feel right about all of that. I have been looking over the memory for the past few hours but can't put my finger on it."_

"I guess we will find out in the morning then."

**Omir's POV**

It worked wonderfully to say the least. I couldn't believe that idiot thought that they hated him.

"Good work girls." I told all of them.

"Go to hell." Emily said.

"Well that's rude. Don't you like me anymore?" I asked her.

"I haven't liked you in years you disgusting pervert. I want my brother back." She yelled at me from her position in her brother's chair.

I grabbed her chin and brought it close to my face. "Well Sam isn't coming back, he is a stubborn fool after all. The ponies made sure he won't, and your's and the dryad's performances just cemented his suspicions. He won't be coming back and with those broken bones of his, he won't last longer than a week."

"At least let the ponies go." She begged of me.

"Not going to happen, Emily. There isn't any point. I already got rid of the only other band wearer, why take chances with the elements of harmony. I would be dumber than your brother if I let them go. And you and the Dryad are my prisoners in case, for some miraculous reason, your brother decides to return." I threw her back into the chair and my bands pulsed, sending out a message for the unicorns to put them somewhere they couldn't get free.

I looked at the gift that had been bestowed upon me. They were a toxic looking green and they complimented my middle eastern shaded skin nicely.

"This is going to be fun." I said to myself as I went over my plans for equestria.

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**A/N: No, don't take it as me being racist. I just thought it would be good to throw in some diversity. Like 99% of all MLP fanfictions are filled with white humans. I have only ever read one where one of the humans wasn't white. I just thought it would be a nice change of pace. The main antagonist has been revealed. Stay tuned. See ya on the flip side.**


	15. Chapter 15: Confrontation

**Sam's POV**

I woke up the next morning with an aching back and, suprisingly, a healed ankle and arm.

"Pulse, did you finally get regeneration to work?" I asked him.

"_Yeah. I also managed to figure out why yesterday bugged me so much. It's also the reason why I was able to get regeneration to work again." _He answered.

"Well, what was it?" I asked him. A little annoyed he just stopped.

"**_Sigh_**_ It's another meta-morph. A powerful one too. Apparently, according to Cobalt, it was controlling those ponies. We can only assume that whatever has the other pair, wants you out of the picture. Cobalt says we need to stop it as soon as possible."_ He sounded almost scared.

"Okay then, let's go." I got up to start heading back to the house. I felt like an asshole and a moron. I had completely abandoned both my sister and Areta for an absurd reason. Sure I was planning on going back but that didn't change the fact that I had left in the first place.

"_Hold up. We need to think this through. Cobalt says the other pair, while newer, is far superior to him right now. If we go in balls to the wall, we will die. Not to mention you haven't had the best luck in battle so far. The best you've done is a draw, and the worst, a complete ass whooping. If we want to win, we need a strategy."_ I couldn't believe it. Pulse, of all people, was telling _me_ to think things through.

"Do you have a plan?" I was sceptical to say the least.

"_Actually, I do."_

**Areta's POV**

Emily and I were in the cellar beneath the basement. We had both been knocked unconscious after Sam had left and were just now waking up. Our hands were tied up behind us in one of the most uncomfortable ways possible. I could just barely see Emily across the room. I wanted answers from her.

"So, you know him?" I asked her in a venomous tone. The whole reason he seemed to be doing this seemed to be because he had a vendetta against the siblings.

"Yeah, I do. His name is Omir. We...we dated for awhile, but it ended badly." She said. She sounded like she wanted to cry.

"What do you mean by 'badly'?" I asked her in the same tone.

"Sam found Omir in bed with one of his ex's and told me. We had a giant fight about it and when I told him I was leaving him, he smacked me across the face, splitting my lip and bruising my cheek. Omir didn't know that Sam was asleep upstairs, so when Sam heard my scream, he came rushing down the stairs with a baseball bat. Omir pulled out a knife and tried to stab him but Sam moved out of the way and hit him in the head with the bat. He was knocked unconscious. We called the cops and learned that the hit had caused some damage to Omir's brain. He lost his ability to feel positive emotions and a lot of negative ones too. All he could feel was anger. They sent him to a pshyciatric ward and Sam was released, free of all charges." She wrapped up her story and looked like she was actively crying now.

I tried my best and eventually got to my feet. I walked over and sat down next to her.

I didn't know what to say to that. It was obvious why Omir seemed to hate Sam and Emily, now.

Emily looked up at me with tears in her eyes and looked back down.

"Don't worry. Sam will save us." I tried to reassure her.

**Sam's POV**

Pulse had explained, in detail, numerous times what the plan was. It was like he didn't trust me, I was a little hurt but, nonetheless, carried on with the plan.

At the moment I was flying over the barn with my new pair of wings, scouting the area. Pulse had told me a trick that would allow me to overcharge Cobalt and I's connection for a short time. Allowing me to reach full power for two minutes, give or take thirty seconds. It was extremely dangerous though, if done incorrectly, it would eat up my soul in a matter of miliseconds, and I would be left a lifeless husk. It was a little terrifying to say the least but I had to try if I wanted to win.

Nothing seemed to be different below and Pulse notified me that Areta, and probably Emily as well, was somewhere below the barn and that the other pair of bands was somewhere in the house. We didn't have much time since Cobalt could see the other pair, the other pair could see Cobalt.

As I was flying overhead, a large beam shot through the roof of the house. I quickly rolled out of the way and plummeted. I activated sturdiness and landed on my feet with a large thud. So much for most of the plan.

Another beam came flying out the side of the house and I had just enough time to roll out of the way.

I expected another beam and was ready for it with speed but, instead of a beam, a sound wave blew the front of the house apart and knocked me on my back.

I felt the other pair rushing towards and reaching me in little under a second. This suprised me as I was a good hundred and fifty feet from the house.

"Hello Sam, long time no see." I knew that voice. I looked up to see the face of one of my sisters' old flames.

"Omir?" I asked, really confused.

"One and only. I see you're behind as usual." He gestured to my bands. I noticed his were a nasty looking green.

"Sam, I'd like you to meet Toxic Green, my meta-morph." I bowed elegently and waited for me to introduce mine.

I stood up and looked at him warily. "Cobalt." I told him with a glare.

"Ah, so it is true. The bands are named after their colors. I can also see that you have recieved quite the musculature." He said. The arrogant dick.

"You too." I noticed that he had has well.

"Shall we continue our little spat." God this guy pissed me off!

I turned on agility and went in for a punch. When he went to block, I flipped over him and, turning on strength, snapped my leg into his back in midair. However, instead of him flying forwards, I flew back. When I hit the ground I went into a hard, full body roll. He was over me in a second.

"I'm dissapointed in you Sam. I thought if anything in this pathetic world could give me a challenge, it would be you. Apparently I was wrong. Now, you will suffer for it." He said in his smug tone.

Before I could even say anything, I felt a sharp pain in my lower back and then on my face. Next thing I knew, I was hurtling through the barn and into the orchard. Boy was Applejack going to be pissed.

I stood up just in time to see a fist flying at my fast. I felt it connect and send me back even farther into the orchard, knocking down dozens of trees. I could feel Cobalt getting tired. It was now or never.

I started up the connection process and could slowly feel my energy being returned to Cobalt and I. I could feel dozens of tiny impacts all across my body from Omir but they hardly effected me. When the process was over I looked at Omir. I realized that we were the same height but for some reason, I felt taller at the moment.

My hand shot out and wrapped around his neck. His eyes went from ones of complete boredom to anger. He grabbed my hand and tried crushing it, but I wouldn't let go. I lifted him off his feet and brought him over my head and into the ground, face first. He was stunned just long enough for me to grab his ankle and to slam him repeatedly into the ground. I felt his ankle give way under me and his lower leg soon followed. I chucked him off into the orchard since I could feel the new found connection losing its grip. I raced over to the barn and into the cellar to find Emily and Areta tied up. I quickly undid their bonds and was just climbing out of the cellar when the connection wore off. I stumbled forward and was forced to my knees from the exhaustion.

"Sam, what's wrong?" Areta asked with concern in her voice.

"Just a side-affect of something I had to do. We need to leave, right now." I told them.

I could feel Toxic Green coming towards us. There wasn't a way for me to save the ponies right now. I would have to come back for them.

I stood up and started jogging to the orchard, motioning for the girls to follow.

Before we got to the trees however, Omir found us. He did this weird sort of skipping motion due to his broken leg but was still quite fast, faster than us. He reached us in a few seconds and I put up my arms to block. I was almost out of energy and it took all I had left just to stop his punch.

I was sent back into another tree and made a small indent. Omir followed up with a hard, yet normal, punch to the gut and I fell. I could see him limping his way over to Areta and Emily.

"Now that this is over, I am going to have some fun." He grabbed Emily's hair and pulled her to himself. He started stroking her back and looked over at me.

Something snapped and I felt a new flood of energy wash over me.

"_Sam._" Pulse warned.

"I got this." I thought to him.

I rushed forward, took Emily out of his arms, and dealt an uppercut to his jaw. I could feel the bone shattering underneath my punch, he flew a few feet away from us. I was starting to get weary.

"Let's go." I grabbed Areta's arm and started pulling them after me. I suddenly felt Toxic shift to right behind me. I looked behind us just in time to see Omir kneeling and holding out his hand with a ball of magic in it, pointed at Areta. I let go of Emily and spun my body to block the blast. It hit me full force. I could feel Areta crash into my back and we were both launched into the air.

We flew far above the tree's and were heading towards the open field between Canterlot and Ponyville. I turned around and wrapped Areta in my arms and spread my wings to slow our fall. I could feel the feathers being torn out of the skin and the muscles practically being pulled off the bone and apart. I slowed us down just enough so that we could land without being flattened. I flipped us and took the brunt off the fall. I blacked out as soon as we stopped moving.

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**A/N: I think I know exactly what I want to do with this story. If any of you have read the book series where I get the names for my protagonists from, then you have a faint idea of how the story will go. Sorry for not updating for awhile, things have been hectic and I have just now been getting some time to write. Hope you guys like the this chapter. Also, the site's 'proof-reader' system seems to have been taken out so sorry if there are more spelling errors than normal. See ya on the flip side.**


	16. Chapter 16: The mind of Areta

**Areta (right after landing)**

I woke up with a throbbing head and aching back. When I went to lift my arm up to rub it, I felt resistance. I looked over to see Sam's arms wrapped tightly around me.

When I looked upwards I could barely see the tip of his nose. "Sam, hey Sam. I'm alright, you can let go of me now." I urged him. Sure, I liked being in his embrace, but it wasn't to comfortable at the moment and this was hardly the time.

When he didn't respond, I shook my shoulders a little to get his attention. When he didn't respond to that, I tried struggling to get out of his grip. It took me a minute or two but I eventually made it out.

I stood up and turned around to look at him. His eyes were closed and he didn't seem to be breathing. The meta morph was also slightly pulsing light.

"Sam. Sam wake up!" I kneeled down and shook his shoulders. I tried thumping his chest, getting him to sit up, stand up, anything I could think off. Eventually I decided to slap him. I brought my hand up and brought it back down across his cheek as hard as I could. It left a really red mark and left my hand fairly numb; but, it still didn't work.

"Oh tree, what am I going to do? I can't lose you, not yet. I can't lose another one." I started sobbing into my hands until I had an idea.

"Pulse." I straddled Sam and got ready for what I was about to do. Sam had told me to never do this but it was the only way I could think of to get ahold of Pulse. I thrust my hands down onto the bands and Sam started vibrating violently, almost spasming. I kept it up for a few more seconds, hoping beyond hope that this would work.

"Sam, please. Let me in." I asked of him. A few seconds later, I flashed out of Equestria, and into the bands.

I looked around for anybody. Eventually, I spotted someone by a bunch of equipment. It looked like Sam but I wasn't sure.

"Hello!" I called to them.

"What do you want? Are you another stray? Like I said, I got it covered now get back to the soul." I heard someone speaking right into my ear.

I turned around and jumped back a little bit. I found myself looking at Sam but with completely blue eyes, the same color as my magic.

"Wait. Areta, is that you?" He asked me. He sounded really confused.

"Yeah." I responded. I was a little afraid of him. According to Sam, Pulse was a real jerk.

"Damn, you're hot. Tell me again why Sam is so afraid to do anything to you. I know I would." He whistled at me and kept oogling. It was creepy to say the least. I slapped him for his rudeness.

"Ow! Dammit woman. That hurt. Did you come here to slap me or for a conjugal visit?" That earned him another slap. I didn't know what a 'conjugal visit' was but I didn't like the look he was giving me.

"Okay okay. Wow, you really don't take shit from anyone do you?" I never understood these 'curses' Sam spoke of but I really didn't like them, especially coming from Pulse.

"Where is Sam?" I asked him. I put my hands on my hips and gave him a glare, daring him to try anything else.

"I have no idea. Buttmunch disappeared on me after we crashlanded. His soul is in pretty bad shape. He used nearly all of it this time. I really need to put some sort of lock on that thing, he seems to think it's some sort overdrive feature. If he keeps depleting it like this, eventually, it won't recharge." He said, seemingly in thought.

"So, what happens now?" I felt useless right now and I wanted to fix that.

"We wait." He said nonchalantly. He started walking back over to the equipment.

"Wait a second!" I called after him.

He turned back towards me. "What?"

"Isn't there anything we can do to help him?" I was getting worried. His body wouldn't be safe by itself and I was to weak to protect it or carry it far.

"I am going to turn on his photosynthesis function but I will have to leave regeneration off, I can't do both at once. It will take about a week for his soul to fully recharge this time. Apparently, it's gotten used to being depleted. Which is, in no way shape or form, a good thing. All you have to do is keep his body safe. Leave him out in the sun for thirty minutes at a time, take him out of the sun for an hour or two, then bring him back in for another half hour to keep the photosynthesis stable and effective. When he wakes up, he will be very sore. Another two days of rest should allow regeneration to work it's magic and fix up all the fractures and sprains that hadn't already healed during the week naturally." He explained to me. At least there was something I could do to help him get better.

"Why can't I just leave him in the sun? That way he will be strong when he wakes up." I was pretty sure I knew more about photosynthesis than he did.

"You might cut his lifespan by a decade or two. Or about sixty years. Which ever hits him first." He casually explained.

"Wait, what?" What did he mean by that!

"Human's aren't meant to be in direct sunlight for very long. Especially humans like Sam. That red hair we have, it's a signal to humans to stay out of the sunlight. He starts getting burned after being out there for only forty five mintues. And the more times he gets burned, the higher the chance for cancer. If he doesn't succumb to cancer, the UV radiation will damage his cells natural regenerative property, cutting years off his life. That's why he shouldn't be in direct sunlight for more than half an hour. If his skin starts to match his hair, take him out of the sunlight."

"Okay. Now how do I get out?" When I finished my question his head cocked up quickly.

"Tell me EXACTLY what you did to get in here." He walked over and stood right in front of me.

"I straddled him, thrust my hands onto the bands, and pleaded with him to let me in." I explained to him. His face erupted in anger.

"You dumb bitch! Sam explicitely told you _not _to touch his bands! Right now, yes, right now, you are killing him!" He paced for a few seconds then walked over to me.

"You need to leave. Now." He grabbed my shoulders and pushed me backwards, snaking his foot behind mine and tripping me. I fell backwards and before I hit the floor, teleported back into Equestria. I immediately tore my hands off of the bands. Sam was smoking and violently spasming every muscle he had, and the bands were glowing so brightly I couldn't look at them. I got off of him as quickly as I could. I took a second to calm myself before I decided what to do next.

**Areta (about one week later)**

"AAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!" I heard screaming from where I had left Sam's body. At the moment I was preparing some water for him when he woke up. I dropped the bark I was using to gather the water and rushed back to the primitive cave-like structure I had set up to help me with Sam's photosynthesis.

I found Sam thrashing and spasming across the ground, wailing and screaming his head off.

I went over to him quickly and knelt down near his head. I did my best to get both of us in a comfortable position with his head resting in my lap.

"Sam, it's alright. I'm right here." I whispered to him as I stroked his cheek.

"Areta? It hurts, so much right now...why?" He managed to get out before he went into another fit.

"I don't know. Maybe one of the side effects from you depleting your soul? Like last time." I tried reasoning with him.

I needed to calm him down. I had been having little spats with a cockatrice in the area. He couldn't turn me to stone but he could probably do it to Sam.

"Try turning on regeneration. I will try and put some of my magic in you to dull the pain."

"Al..alright. I'll try." His bands flashed after a few minutes and he nodded up at me. I started letting my magic flow into him. Eventually he managed to calm down but he still looked to be in a lot of pain.

"Sam, I need to get you some water. I will have to leave but I will be back as soon as I can. Alright?" I asked him. He didn't seem to be completely rational at the moment.

He nodded his approval and I took his head off of my lap. When we broke contact, however, he started to wail in pain again.

"Areta. I can't stop the pain by myself. Please hurry." He groaned out.

"I'll try." I rushed over to the nearby river and picked up the bark I had before. I sloppily filled it with water and rushed back to Sam.

When I got back, he seemed to be on the verge of passing out. I hurried over and lifted up his head so he could drink. I put the bark to his lips and urged him to take a sip. When he took the first gulp, he couldn't get enough. He downed the whole thing in a matter of seconds.

I rushed back to the river and repeated a few more times. On the fourth time I stopped him.

"That's enough Sam. If you drink anymore without something in your stomach, you'll get sick and lose all of it." I firmly told him.

"Alright, thank you Areta." He looked up at me gratefully. We were in the same position as before.

"It was no problem. Now, you need to rest. The sun will be going down soon and I need to find you some food." He nodded and closed his eyes. Soon he was breathing deeply and I knew he was asleep.

I laid his head back down and on to a pile of leaves I had gathered a few days ago. I put back together the makeshift cave he had torn down as well so he wouldn't get burned.

After I was done, I went to go look for the edible plants I had seen while exploring the area over the past week. It took till about sunset but I gathered enough for a decent sized meal, at least for him.

I made my way back to the area we were staying in only to find it being tampered with by the cockatrice again.

"Hey! If I've told you once, I've told you once before. Stay away from him!" I whisper yelled at him as to not wake up Sam.

He clucked back at me in retaliation but left nonetheless. I went over to Sam to find him still human. He was already starting to look better. His skin wasn't as pale, his hair had more of the orangish-red glow that it had when we first met, and he looked more peaceful. I gently shook his shoulders to wake him up.

"Sam, I have some plants here for you to eat." I softly told him. He still seemed half asleep so I helped him eat it. He went back to sleep soon after he finished.

I manuevered my way into a comfortable position beside him and soon fell asleep myself.

**Areta (two days later)**

"Are you picking up on anything?" I asked Sam as he sat in a meditative pose. While he was resting, he had met with Pulse and said that he and Cobalt had become closer to being true partners, so he had some more mobility with his bands. Currently he was testing it out to see how far Omir's mind control influence spread.

"Yeah. It's wierd. Ponyville is completely controlled by him, so it's a giant blip on the world map Pulse is creating in my head. Yet, at the same time, there are also really small blips all over Equestria. There are three or four in Canterlot alone. He seems to be growing in power and Pulse says the only way to counteract it, is with the same ability and power. Which we don't know how to find." He explained to me.

"I might have an idea. What is the power most like? What can you compare it to?" I had a slight idea of where we might be able to get it if it was what I was thinking of.

"I guess... sort of like a hive mind, and Omir is the queen, or in this case, king." He said after concentrating on it for a few minutes.

"Then I think I know where to get it, and probably where Omir got it as well. We have to go to a place called the Changling hive."

* * *

**A/N: And things get more complicated. With a definitive story set, I can start creating longer chapters and hopefully get them out faster. How did you guys like an all Areta viewpoint for this chapter? I hoped you like it, if you didn't, however, I don't mind. I probably won't be doing something like this again. Everything but the last scene was in her viewpoint anyways, so I just decided to make it all hers. For some reason my keyboard is being a moron and won't capitalize the letter 'a' when I hold shift so sorry if there are some a's that should be capitalized and aren't. See ya on the flip side.**


	17. Chapter 17: Changling Hive Part:1

**Sam (2 weeks later)**

It had been little more than two weeks since Areta and I had started on our journey to the changlings hive. Along the way we had noticed Omir's power growing. New blips were popping up all over the place, and we had run into a few of them. It turn's out I could temporarily disable creatures he had under his control if I touched my bands to their temples. It wouldn't last long however, at the most, an hour. And at the least, a few minutes. Areta had said we were still a week's worth of walking till we got to the hive. At the moment we were walking.

"Sam, can we take a break? My feet hurt." Areta couldn't keep up very well. Being kept in the same area for hundreds of years did that to you.

"Do you really need to stop? We need to get to that hive as soon as possible. If the power is there, then we get it. If it isn't, we can start on some of the other leads we've picked up." I responded.

"I think I'm getting sores. If you really don't want to stop, then carry me." She suggested.

"Fine. Get on my back." I crouched down a little bit and she climbed on. She wrapped her arms around my neck and I snaked my arms through the back of her knees. We didn't get two steps before I realized my mistake. She was squeezing into me so she wouldn't fall, and in doing so, squeezing her breasts into my back. Let's just say, it was an uncomfortable position; but, nothing was going to stop me from getting my sister back.

I started walking once more and only got slightly farther this time.

"Sam, this isn't working. You are going to have to hold me somewhere else or I'm going to fall off." She told me.

"There isn't anywhere else for me to grab." I told her.

"Lean forward." She demanded. I complied.

"You can grab here." She grabbed my hands and shifted them behind me and right onto her butt.

"Now, if you want to move forward, we do it like this. If not, we can make camp." She said sternly, issuing her ultimatum.

"Yeah, no. We're making camp." And with that, I straightened up and let go. She slid off my back and landed with a thud on the road we were on.

"Ow, Sam. That hurt." She complained.

"Sorry." I coldly replied.

"You have been a real jerk ever since we left ponyville. What's wrong with you?" She accused me as she stood up.

"I'm trying to save my sister. That's all that matters right now." I answered her without turning around. "We set up camp here. I am going to go get some supplies for a fire. Wait here."

"Sam, don't walk away from me while we're talking. Do I matter anymore?" She sounded like she was on the verge of tears. I didn't respond. She couldn't understand what kind of danger my sister was in.

I walked into the forest that was surrounding the path we were on to find some suitable wood. I came back about an hour later and made a firepit. I activated firebreath and lit it. Areta sat on one side and I, the other.

"You didn't answer my question, Sam." She accused me while staring into the fire.

"What question?" I asked innocently.

She sighed. "You know the question." She answered with sadness in her voice.

"I am trying to save my sister." I said while staring into the fire.

She stood up suddenly and looked at me with a cold stare. She walked over to me and slapped me. "That doesn't give you the right to treat me like an unwanted belonging." She turned around and walked off. I could hear her crying.

"I'm sorry." I whispered. She just didn't understand.

I stood up to go after her. She didn't know what wandered in this forest at night and neither did I.

I started walking in the direction she took off. I could hear her crying up ahead so it was easy to follow her. I found her in a grove in a large tree, up at the top. I didn't question it with her being a dryad.

"Look, I'm sorry, Areta!" I called up to her.

She just turned her head away from me. If she wanted to do this the hard way then so be it. I plopped down at the base of the tree and waited for her to come down. After ten minutes had passed I went to go put out the fire. I stomped it out and went back to the grove. Areta was still in the tree and still awake. I could see her looking at me out of the corner of her eye. She still had tears in them. I sat down next to the tree and laid my head against it, waiting for her. I soon dozed off.

**The next day**

I woke up to another hard slap from Areta. I guess she was still mad at me.

"Good morning to you too." I quipped at her. She just huffed.

I stood up and started walking. She didn't follow me. "Well come on. Let's go." I waved my arm in the universal gesture for 'hurry up'.

"I can't believe you right now." She whispered. I turned around to look at her.

"I said, let's go." I emphasized the last part to make her move.

"I hate you." She mumbled even quieter than before.

"What?" I asked her, not quite hearing.

"I said, I hate you!" She screeched at me.

"Well good for you! Now if you're not going to walk with me on your own, then I am going to make you." I responded. She could hate me all she wanted, it didn't matter to me right now.

"What is wrong with you? Where is the Sam who saved me from the timber wolves? Where's the Sam who tried to fight a dragon so a town of ponies he barely knew, could flee and live to see another day? Where's that Sam?" She pleaded with me.

"I'm the same Sam, Areta. Now let's go." I walked over to her, threatning to pick her up and forcefully carry her.

"No, you're not. You're a jerk. You're acting just like Omir." She whispered when I got close enough to hear her.

This struck a chord in me. Was I really being this horrible to her? I looked back on all things I had done since we had started travelling, and, unfortunately, I was that bad.

"I...I'm sorry Areta. I have been cruel to you. Let's take a day to rest, alright." I looked at her with regret.

She didn't seem to be phased by my apology and I didn't blame her. She just huffed and turned around, walking to the nearby pond. I decided to do something I hadn't done to her yet. Something she rightly deserved, and probably needed. I walked up to her and turned her around when she stood back up. I grabbed her shoulders and shakily pulled her into an awkward hug. She was stiff for a little bit but eventually leaned into it. I could feel a wetness on my shoulder after a few seconds.

"I missed you." She mumbled into my shoulder as she snaked her arms under mine. I just let her cry it out. We stayed that way for a while before she pulled away. She quickly stood up on her toes and gave me a peck on the cheek. This startled me by a quite a large margin and I stumbled backwards and tripped myself. She just giggled at my bashfulness.

"Please don't do that. It was hard enough getting up the courage just to hug you." I told her as I stood back up.

"No gaurantees." She flippantly said. She turned around and leaned back down to the pond for another drink of water.

I just walked over to the tree and laid against it. Ready to wait out the rest of the day while she rested.

**One week later**

I was carrying Areta on my back while walking towards a gigantic structure in the middle of a clearing. It looked like a skyscraper sized termite mound. I could hear a faint buzzing and we were still probably half a mile away. I could see black things buzzing around, in and out of it. It creeped me out to be honest. I was okay with bugs, but giant insects the size of the ponies were another thing all together.

"We are almost there Areta." I whispered to her. She just nodded her head and shifted to get herself comfortable on my back, resulting in me having to squeeze her butt to hold on.

"Ooh Sam. Someone's ready." She whispered to me.

"Please don't say that. It's hard enough not to just drop you without those kinds of comments." She just giggled at me.

I was starting to find myself getting closer to Areta. I was beginning to see her as more than a friend. I wasn't entirely sure how to deal with this and I didn't know whether her lewd and suggestive comments were actually lewd and suggestive comments, or just her messing around. It was hard to tell the difference with her. I really didn't want to ruin a friendship such as ours over something as trivial as feelings for her. In my experience, you couldn't be friends after breaking up. All of my sisters previous boyfriends stopped talking to her on a regular basis after they had broken up, and I had never even seen one of my girlfriends after we had broken up. They had just vanished.

"Oh Sam, your back is so strong and comfortable, I could stay like this all day." She suddenly mumbled.

"Alright, time for Areta to get off of the back of Sam and walk." I told her.

"But I don't want to." She cried cutely while gripping me even tighter.

"Fine, but once we get to the hive, you get off." I said sternly.

"Alright." She finally agreed.

Our plan was to sneak into the hive and confront the queen. I couldn't waste time with the drones since I didn't have the capacity for more than two new abilities, and from what I had been told by Areta, the queen was the only one I could get mind control from and it was extremely powerful.

As we approached the hive, I crouched down so Areta could get off. She was pretty well blended into the shrubbery with her skin and dress, but stuck out like a sore thumb with my khakis and almost snow white skin.

We went into a sort of stealth mode and quickly made our way the remaining hundred or so feet to the hive.

We didn't make it five seconds once we reached the hive before a small army of them suddenly appeared around us and started chittering excitedly to themselves.

"Well that plan went to shit." I casually remarked to Areta.

"You can't fight them all, so don't even think about it. Let them capture us and that way we have our way in." She told me.

"Fine." I relented. I really was thinking about fighting them. She was starting to know me too well.

They shot out this disgusting good that bonded our hands, and pushed us inside an opening in the wall.

They walked us for what felt like hours and, eventually, we arrived in a room that almost looked like it was supposed to be the throne chamber.

"So it was true. My drones did capture a dryad and the member of a long extinct species." I loud and feminine voice rang throughout the chamber. I looked around to find it but couldn't pinpoint the direction it came from.

Suddenly, a large changling dropped down in front of us. She looked even uglier than the drones with sickish green hair and a longer, more slender jagged horn along with eyes that seemed to stare into my soul.

"Release the dryad, you know what to do with her. I would like to have a moment alone with the metamorph holder." She commanded two of her drones.

They spit some wierd good on the makeshift shackles surrounding Areta's hands and wrists and then lead her out a door.

"Is she going to be alright?" I asked their queen.

"She will be just fine. Changlings and dryads go way back. We have a very strong species friendship. My drones are taking her for a feast that she will most certainly enjoy. Now about you. Why are you here?" She asked. Each word she had uttered, she took a step closer; and by the time she had said drones, she was right on top of me and was just inching closer.

"I will answer your question with one of my own. Have you been touched by another metamorph holder sometime in the last few months?" I asked her, unfazed by her closeness. I could tell this type of queen favored strength.

"As it may seem, yes I have. He stole my hive mind ability and is now using it for himself. He can't control my changlings but he can definitely control ponies, what with each pair of bands having part of a pony's soul in it." she casually told me.

"Then I would like to ask for that same power to use against him." I stated my request.

She backed away from me and brought a hoof up to her muzzle, as if in deep thought about it. Eventually, she looked at me with a smile on her face. "No."

"What? Why?" I whined at her.

"Because hive mind is special and I can't just give it out willy nilly. If you want it, you have to prove you can handle it. If you can do that, I will give it to you AND teach you how to use it. Do we have a deal?" She stuck out her hoof.

I respected her for this decision, didn't mean I liked it though. I grabbed her hoof and shook it. "Deal."


	18. Chapter 18: Changling Hive Part:2

**A/N: This chapter officially graduates my story from T to M. If you don't know what that means, your are definitely not old enough to read this chapter. If you need to, just don't read anything after 'the next day (early morning)' line. Most of it is a set up to the scene. There isn't any necessary or plot related material after the scene and there is no authors note so you will be perfectly fine if you skip it completely. Most of this chapter however, delves into a more comedic approach to writing (well most of the first part. I wanted to try a legit style for once and thought 'why not?'. So don't take this as me being pervy or obnoxious intentionally.**

* * *

**Sam**

"Prove it, how? How am I supposed to prove myself with it, without it?" I asked her.

"You will know that the time is right when the situation presents itself." She told me without a care in the world.

"Gah, I hate cryptic bullshit!" I yelled to the heavens.

"It's not cryptic, it's vague. Now drones, take him to the dryad. Treat him as you would her." She commanded two of her guards.

They uttered a 'yes my queen' and led me into the hive. One of them gave me a weird device and told me it was for navigating the hive. I was allowed to go anywhere as long as I stayed away from personal chambers, which I could understand. They brought me through twist and turn after roundabout and cross section. I couldn't wrap my head around this immensely complicated hive. I always thought that bugs were simple creatures. Maybe the sentience had something to do with it.

Eventually, they lead me to a room and thrust me into it. I looked around and found our few measly belongings in it along with a bed and Areta waiting on it, looking at me.

"How did it go?" She asked with a smile on her face.

"Terrible. She said I have to prove myself before she will let me have it." I plopped down on the bed and let my back fall down onto it. Areta crawled over to me so she could look me in the face while we were talking.

"How?" She rubbed her bushel of long hair behind her as it was getting in my face.

"That's what I asked! But she said I would know when the situation arose." I replied.

"At least you won't have to take it. I doubt, even with the bands, that you could take on the whole changling hive. Apparently the element bearers couldn't even do it." She responded.

We heard the door open and looked over to see a guard.

"Oh, uh. I guess I'll come back later then. I seem to have interrupted something." He said in a slightly raspy voice you sometimes see cartoon characters with.

"Woah woah woah woah woah. We aren't doing anything." I sat up quickly and smacked my head right into Areta's. "Ow, Sam." She moaned. "Sorry." I said as I rubbed the knot beginning to form.

"Anyways, there is someone who would like to speak to you. Follow me." He said.

We stood up and started following him through the maze he called home. After about half an hour of walking, we came upon a door which our escort opened with his magic. Inside was a woman. Like a legit woman, along with a gigantic tree, much larger than Areta's had been. It's aura was the same as the woman's, a deep red. She looked like Areta, yet different. Kind of like cousins. The hair was the same but the face was slightly had these deep purple eyes and she also looked a few years older than Areta and I.

She turned around when we walked in and her eyes settled on Areta for a second, then went to me and stayed. It was creepy. And terrifying.

"Hello dear!" She called down to us in that voice woman who are supposed to be the older bitch, get. Slightly deeper and proud.

She wouldn't take her eyes off of me and it unnerved me. I sub consciously started inching closer to Areta. Before I knew it I bumbed into her shoulder and the new dryad reached us.

"Oh, it's been _such_ a long time since I have seen a fellow of my kind. But, why are you here, dear. Shouldn't you be with your tree?" She asked Areta.

"I am with my tree." She pointed to me and then my bands.

It only took her a second to figure out what had happened. "Oh! I see. Well then, allow me to introduce myself. My name is Rosaline. A pleasure to meet you both." She did a deep elegent bow.

She stood up suddenly and pulled me into her bosom. "It's been such a long time since I have seen a man. I can't wait to show you the ropes. Come." She started dragging me down the hallway, still suffocating in mountains of flesh.

"You will do no such thing!" I heard Areta call out. Thank you!

"You have no claim to him. You should know this by now young one. If I wish to have my way with him, then he shall be mine." It was starting to get hard to breath. I kept trying to get out of it but she had a grip like a vice. She didn't even feel like she was struggling to hold me like this.

"That does not matter. I still think of him as mine." She said.

"Somebody, help me!" I screamed.

"Ooh that felt good." Rosaline giggled. God dammit! These things were like mufflers!

"Anyways. The only way you can claim him is to sleep with him. Have you done that?" She asked.

"Well...no, but..." Areta answered.

"No buts about it. You had your chance, now it is mine." She stated.

"But he is my tree!" She yelled.

"That, young one, is irrelevent. This discussion is over." I heard Rosaline say with finality.

"Then I challange you to a rose duel!" I heard Areta cry. Someone, anyone! Help me, dammit!

She finally let me go and I rushed to the surface for a large gulp of air. I fell to the floor dry heaving, trying to get the scent of her lilac bosom out of my mouth and nostrils. I prefered Areta's tulip scent over Rosaline's any day. She soon noticed her mistake and went to grab me again. I zoomed over to Areta so fast they didn't know what hit them. I hid behind her as best I could, what with me being almost a foot taller than her.

"What? You don't want to have your way with little old me. Aren't I enough woman for you? Obviously she isn't satisfying you enough. Come to Rosaline and she will make you feel like a god." She cried.

"No thank you." I said in a whisper. Out of all things we had been up against, she was by far the most terrifying.

"Fine. If I cannot have you by persuasion, then I will have you by contract." She growled.

"Two things. One, what do you mean by contract; and two, why do you want me so bad?" I asked her.

"You are a fine specimen, as am I. Our offspring will be strong and hardy, and live on to reproduce." She said with conviction. Spoken like a true, caring mother.

"But what about Areta? If I become your's what happens to her?" I asked.

"Sam!" Areta yelled at me.

"What? I just want to know." I reassured her.

"We will switch. She will get my tree and I, your bands." She said.

"Well that's not going to happen!" Areta interrupted us.

"We'll see about that, young one. Only if you are able to defeat me in the rose duel will you get to keep your _tree._" She explained.

"Don't I get a say in this?" I asked Areta. "No." She replied.

"Why not?" I asked her.

"Because in this situation, you are property." She explained.

"Property! What the hell? That's a little old fashioned to be thinking about a sentient being as property, don't you think?" I asked her. This was so wrong!

"It doesn't matter what we think. There are only two ways for me to keep you. Win you or..." She didn't seem to want to say the other one.

"Or..." I urged her.

"I claim you." She said.

"Claim me? What do you mean by claim me?" Every answer she gave just brought on a new question!

"Sleeping with you." She said quickly

"Are you sure you can beat her in this rose bowl thing?" I begged her. I didn't want to become a sex slave, even if my master would be hot and sexy.

"Rose _duel_, and no, I don't know if I can beat her. She has more experience than I do. And she can tap into her tree's energy more easily."

"What are you two mumbling about over there? Are we doing this or not, young one." Rosaline called to us.

"My name is Areta! And yes, we are. We will compete tomorrow at this hive's stadium." She said.

"Fair enough. Prepare yourself to be stuck here for the rest of your life as I take my new toy on the adventures of the gods." This woman was creepy as shit. I am really glad Areta is nothing like her.

"Come on Sam. Let's go back to our room. It's almost sun down." She commanded me. I happily obliged her.

We made our way back to our room using the device that had been given to us. I started gathering some pillows for me and grabbed the extra blanket from off the chair and made myself a makeshift bed on the floor. Areta just stared at me.

"I'm sorry for getting you into this Sam but I couldn't let her do that to you, not to mention I couldn't stand the thought of you two together." She apologized.

"It's alright. I really didn't want to have myself have sex with her either. I'd rather be with you than her anyday." I said as I got comfortable in my new bed, facing away from Areta so she could get comfortable. I knew that she liked to take off her dress whenever she slept in a bed alone.

**The next day (early morning)**

I woke up to a pair of lips on mine and something heavy on my crotch. I opened my eyes to see the closed pair of someone on top of me.

"Rosaline what are you doing!" I screeched into the kiss.

Rosaline lifted up her head to reveal not her, but Areta. Naked. I immediately brought my hands up to cover her giant breasts since she obviously wasn't going to. I couldn't take my questioning eyes off of her pleading ones anyways.

"Areta, what are you doing?" I could feel panic in my chest and hardness in my pants. My body said yes but my mind said no. My heart was conflicted. I could feel her excitement too.

"Sam, this is the only sure fire way that I won't lose you. There are no gaurantees that I will win tomorrow. Like this, she can't take you away from me. Please, Sam. I can't lose you. We have been through so much together." She pleaded with me.

I didn't know what to say to her. I was so conflicted. About my thoughts from earlier along with my feelings. Our pasts, and possible future together. If we took this step, we couldn't go back.

"Oh, Sam." She cried. She started grinding onto me and fell down on top, digging her breasts into me and forcing our lips together. I could feel the love and passion behind her kiss. But I was having a meltdown inside. My heart felt like it was beating for four, my breath was shallow and quick, I could feel my eyes as wide as saucers, and I was shaking as if suffering from hypothermia. My panic was starting to override everything. Even her gentle thrusting onto me and the pleasure it sent up my spine.

I rolled us over and quickly stood up. I looked for the one place I might be safe and went to it, the bare corner. I quickly crouched down and wrapped my arms around my legs. I was having a panic attack, that much was obvious to me. I tried forcing it down but I was out of practice. I used to get them all the time before I finished high school, about all kinds of dumb things. Now, it was serious. My mind could register it but that didn't mean that my body would stop.

"Sam, are you okay." Areta started walking over to me, still naked.

"Stay away." I cried at her on impulse.

"What's wrong, Sam?" She asked, more worried than ever.

"Stay away". I repeated. No one could get me out of this when I started. Not even Emily.

Areta developed a determined expression on her face. She strutted over to me and kneeled down. I backed away. She started coming closer on her hands and knees. It didn't look sexy, more like she was trying to get nearer to me and not look threatening. She reached out a hand and started stroking my cheek. I tried getting away from her but I was backed up as close to the wall as I could get without going through it. I tried activating something, anything to help me get away from her but nothing would work, not even aura eyes which were on almost all the time.

"It's alright Sam. I'm not going to hurt you." She said in a soothing voice. She scooted closer so she was right beside me. Maybe this particular corner wasn't the best spot. I was surrounded by Areta on one side, and a bookshelf on the adjacent wall, which I hadn't noticed when I ran here.

She gently pulled my head towards her and laid it on her chest. She wrapped her arms around my shoulders and started singing a lullaby while rubbing my cheek, or what sounded like a lullaby.

"Stay away." I measly said.

"Shhh, It's alright. I'm right here, I won't hurt you." She repeated this everytime she finished a verse. The lullaby sounded like 'my only sunshine'.

After about fifteen minutes, I finally managed to calm down.

"I'm sorry I reacted that way." I said into her breast, I had lost much of the stiffness that had come with the attack about half way through and had, exhaustedly, lolled into it.

"You don't have to be sorry. Your sister warned me about this. Well, not something as extreme as this, but something close. I shouldn't have forced myself on you, I should be the one who is sorry." She said with regret in her voice. I couldn't imagine how she was feeling right now.

"Couldn't we just tell her we, you know?" I couldn't bring myself to say _it._

"No, she would be able to tell. Once dryads consummate, they get this kind of glow. Didn't you notice hers in her aura? It had small golden flecks in it." She explained.

"Now that you mention it, she did have golden flecks in her aura." And Areta didn't. I felt really bad. I assumed she liked me the way I liked her, probably more, for her to try sleeping with me just to keep me. Just to be shot down and have to see me in a very intense panic attack, her first time for both. I didn't know what to do. I didn't want to risk another panic attack, but I also didn't want to see Areta look so defeated.

"Maybe...maybe we could try this, but take it slowly." I suggested. I could already feel the panic in my chest start to rise, but I had to do it for her. I was also sure I had gotten used to touching her sometime through the whole ordeal as I wasn't panicking just touching her naked breast, which I would be doing under any normal situation let alone this one.

"Are you sure?" She asked, worried.

I looked up at her. "I don't want to lose you either Areta. And I definitely don't want to go with that slut." She just chuckled at my remark.

"Alright, if you say so." She said reluctantly. It was clear that she didn't want to go through with this, with what just happened but I was determine to now.

I stood up and walked over to the bed with her in tow. I sat down and she did as well, right next to me. It felt really awkward, kind of like we were forcing it. But, it didn't matter how we did it as long as we did.

She leaned over and kissed me. The panic got a little more panicky and I was starting to shake. I fell backwards from the force of her kiss and got comfortable. She climbed on top of me and helped me take my shirt off. She leaned back down for another kiss, pressing her chest into me. Nipples felt really weird on my bare skin. It felt like a weird thing to notice but it just struck me as odd that I would in the first place. I could feel the panic go up another level.

I felt her take one of her hands off the bed and soon felt it down by my shorts. I was already completely hard and her fiddling with the zipper didn't help. The panic got sharper. I wouldn't be able to take much more of this.

We broke this kiss and she started crawling down to my shorts. I lifted up and she pulled them off. I could feel my panic steadily rising now. She turned around on top of me and presented herself. When she grabbed me I couldn't take it anymore.

"Areta, I can't do it. I can't, I'm sorry." She immeditely let go of me and turned around.

She smiled at me. It was a comforting smile meant to calm me down. "It's alright, let's just lay here till morning then, shall we?" She asked. I nodded and we climbed under the covers, waiting till the guards would come get us.

I could feel her naked body against me. It got me excited, but not excited enough to override the small amount of panic still inside of me. If I was like this with Areta, I couldn't imagine how bad it would be if I was stuck with that nympho of a dryad.

"Sam if you are that worried, all you would need to do is enter me. We wouldn't have to finish at all." She explained. "Not to mention, I can feel you. It's like you have a bone in there. That can't feel good."

"I want to Areta, I really do. I just... I don't know. I don't know why I'm like this. I want to get it over with, for both our sakes, but it's just really hard." I told her.

"Then let me do it." I could feel her slender body moving beneath the sheets.

"Just... don't watch." She suggested. That didn't stop me from feeling everything.

As her body moved, I felt the panic rising again, just not as suddenly. Maybe I could do this.

Finally, she was in position. She started sliding down and I felt my tip hit her. She was completely wet, which just served to excite and panic me even more. I felt her hand grab hold of me and slide my member into her. It felt like it was a soft and wet pillow trying to suck me into itself. After she did this, most of the panic just disappeared. I had no clue why. I just went with it.

As she was getting off, I stopped her.

"I'm ready." I told her. She looked down at me and leaned over, her hair making a curtain between us and the world.

She leaned down and kissed me. She started gyrating her hips, sending waves of pleasure up my spine. Eventually, I got her rythme down and started thrusting up to meet her. She broke the kiss and leaned back up.

She grabbed my hand and brought it to her breast, making me message it for her. I obliged and started kneading it, most of it spilling out of my hand. I began palming her nipple and she moaned.

She soon started going faster and I struggled to keep up with her. I felt a small tingling near the base and knew my time was soon. Areta began moving erratically and soon, moaned loudly and collapsed onto me. I let her ride out her orgasm as I kept pumping up. I was quickly tiring but I was almost there. I soon finished as well, sending rope after rope into her. I could feel her panting when I was finished.

I wrapped my arms around her and we soon fell asleep from exhaustion.


	19. Chapter 19: Changling Hive Part:3

**Sam (later that morning)**

I opened my eyes to find Areta still on top of me.

"Areta, wake up. It's morning." I urged her.

"Morning Sam." She sleepily responded. Suddenly, her head shot up and she looked around and then down at me. She studied my chest and then her own.

"Oh tree! Sam, you have to know, I didn't want it to happen this way. I wanted this to be something magical and special between us. I am so sorry." She quickly explained. Unexpectedly, she stopped and stared off into space.

"No. No no no no no. I can't believe I did that." She muttered to herself. She climbed off of me and grabbed her dress and donned it.

"I'm sorry Sam. Goodbye." It sounded wierd. Like she meant it permanently. It made me question what we were now. She looked so regretful when she had remembered what we had done. But why? It was special to me. Wasn't it to her as well? So many questions ran through my mind, but I didn't know if I should go after her. Either way though, I had to tell Rosaline that the rose duel was off.

I got out of the bed and cleaned up in the bathroom connected to our room and got dressed. I turned on the navigation device and set about trying to find Rosaline's tree. I came upon it a few minutes later and found her resting in her tree.

"Rosaline!" I called to her. She seemed startled but recovered quickly.

"Hi Sam!" She called to me. "What do you need dear?"

"The rose duel is cancelled." I told her. She looked indifferent.

"Why do you look like you don't care?" I asked her.

"It can't be called off. Once it is issued, it is to be followed through unless everyone involves wishes for its cancellation." She explained.

"What? But Areta said-" I tried explaining "She is young, dear. She doesn't know all the rules. And I can tell how you two thought you could get around it... you devil, you." She playfully suggested.

"It's not like that. She convinced me. I just decided to complete the deed when my panic disappeared." I snapped at her. She looked surprised, yet happy.

"Oh I get it now." She smiled a sadistic smile.

"Get what?" I asked suspiciously.

"Who Areta really is?" She responded.

"What are you talking about? Either give me the whole story or stop altogether." I demanded.

"She is a seductress. Seductess' are Dryads who bond with any male they see, and force themselves on him. They don't care about the male's feelings, just what they carry. You said you allowed her to go all the way? How many attempts did she make last night to sleep with you?"

"Three." I answered her. Did she really think I would fall for this crap? It was ridiculous. Areta had seen Omir many times, along with Big mac.

"Three?! Wow, she really did want it. Most seductress' only attempt twice a night to avoid suspicion. So she practically forced herself onto you. You also said you were panicking?" She tried reasoning with me.

"Yeah, I had an intense panic attack the first time, and the second, a small one and almost another one on the third." I told her.

"And she didn't stop after the first? Wow, she doesn't care about you at all. Even enemies who fight fairly, give their opponents a chance to fight back. How can she call you her friend when she put you into a situation like that three times in one night?"

"She wanted to stay with me, and I wanted to stay with her." I explained to her. I was starting to run out of options. I wanted to trust Areta, I really did, but the things Rosaline were saying were just making too much sense to be coincidence.

"Then she was selfish. She didn't want to fight fairly, she wanted to be sneaky and underhanded to keep you all to herself. Are there any other women in your life besides her?" She asked.

"Just my sister, and some female ponies." I answered.

"What is she like around your sister?" She seemed to be enjoying this.

"She seems to be clingy, or angry. She doesn't like it when she is near me." I explained to her.

"See, she wants you all to herself." She triumphantly declared.

"But what about Omir, another man? She saw him a few times up close, and they spent some alone time together." I blurted out.

"She hadn't gotten with you yet. After this, she will probably go to him. A seductress won't abandon a conquest unless she deems it impossible, which rarely ever happens."

"But..." I couldn't think of anything. It all added up. I didn't want to believe her but coincidence doesn't happen like that. It all fit together perfectly. Everything was accounted for.

"It's alright, Rosaline is here." In my moment of self turmoil, Rosaline had climbed out of her tree and made her way over to me. She attempted to pull me to her but I dodged out of the way.

"I don't want anything else to do with your sick species." I turned and fled out of the room. I couldn't believe this. Areta had stolen my virginity and was now planning on having Omir once we got back. She didn't care, none of them cared. Maybe I wasn't meant to be in a relationship. It all ended in disaster. I could count on one hand the amount of relationships that had ended well for me. I couldn't even remember most of the ones that hadn't. And to top it all off, I was stuck with one of those perverted women for the rest of my life. I needed to get rid of her. Maybe pulse could give me some answers.

I made my way back to our room and sat down on the bed. I struck up a medititative pose and called on the bands. Immediately I was sucked into the white nothingness that was the training grounds.

"PULSE!" I yelled into the expanse, still pissed off.

"Woah there buddy. What had your panties in a twist?" He asked from behind me.

I turned around to face him. "I want her gone. She needs to leave, how do I get rid of her trees aura from Cobalt?" I asked him as I grabbed his shirt.

"Lay off, Sam." He warned.

"I'm not in the mood for your shit, Pulse." I whispered in his face, threatingly.

"Alright, alright. You are talking about Areta right?" He asked.

"Who the hell else?" I let go of his shirt and started angrily pacing. The longer I stayed here the angrier I felt.

"You need to calm down. The bands amplify your emotions when you're in here." He warned me. I started taking some deep breaths. "Cobalt says it isn't a good idea to get rid of her tree's aura. Without it you stand next to no chance of beating Omir, even with the changling hive mind and the knowledge to use it." He told me.

"I don't care, Pulse. You can see what happened. She hurt me, and I don't want to be hurt like that again. I want her gone. As soon as possible."

"Fine. Cobalt says you can try putting her aura in a piece of high end jewelry. Like a necklace with a few, real, rare stones." He finally explained.

"That's all I need to do? I'll just go ask Chyrsalis. Thanks Pulse. You too Cobalt." I thanked them and left.

I looked around to see if anyone was in the room, in case they heard me. I didn't know why, but I was starting to feel paranoid. I grabbed the navigator and quickly made my way to Chrysalis' throne room. I opened the doors and found her sitting on her throne.

"Chrysalis, I need a favor." I told her.

"What kind of favor?" She asked while looking at her hoof.

"I need a necklace with multiple rare jewels encrusted in it." I explained, cutting to the point.

"Why?" She asked, interested now.

"Personal reasons." I answered.

"Is it for the Dryad who wins?" She asked in a sexual voice.

"No, but it is for Areta." I pushed away her lewd question.

"Ooh romance makes me giddy." She squeeled.

"It's not for romance either. Can you please just give me the damned necklace?" I asked her.

"For a price." She stated.

"Favors don't have prices." I explained to her.

"Well then what do I get out of it?" She asked.

"You get one of the most powerful beings in Equestria, indebted to you."

"Oh, I like that so much more. Fine, Stewart!" She yelled. A smaller changling hovered into view.

"Yes my queen?" It asked.

"Get the bandwearer what he asked for." She commanded.

"Yes my queen." He buzzed off and returned soon after. He handed me a beautiful pendant necklace which she didn't deserve. It was a combination of Sapphires and Emeralds going along the sides. One side with four Sapphires and the other, with four Emeralds. The center stone was a swirled combination of the two. It felt like the insult that was added to the injury. If I had ever married Areta, this probably would have been my wedding present to her.

"Thank you Chrysalis." I walked out of the chamber and back to the room. I sat down on the bed and felt my way towards Areta and memorized where she was.

"Okay Pulse, how do I do this?" I asked him.

_"Alright, first, think of the powers it has given you. All of them."_

I began thinking about everything it had given me. I would lose a lot of useful powers. Like regeneration and photosynthesis. Although, I could always get them from Rosaline if need be. It's not like she would mind of I grabbed her and absorbed a little of her power.

"Alright."

_"Now, think of what gave you that power and what connects you to it."_

I started thinking about Areta's tree and Areta herself. I thought about her aura and the tree's and how they were one.

_"Good. Now try and push all that into the necklace in one big push."_

I forced all of the energy out of me and out of Cobalt. I suddenly blacked out.

I awoke sometime later, and found it to be midday. A guard was lazily kicking me and telling me to get up.

"Where is Areta?" I asked him.

"That's why I came here to get you. The Rose Duel will begin in a few minutes and you are needed." He answered

"Alright. Lead the way." I stood up and started following him through the hive. We eventually came upon a large arena with a crowd of changlings in the stands. It looked a lot like the colliseum. Down in the arena proper, were both Areta and Rosaline.

"Thanks for escort." I left him and started walking down the aisle towards the battleground.

I reached the wall and vaulted over, landing hard on my legs. It felt as if I sprained my ankle. I was going to have to get used to not having sturdiness as well. I made my way over to Areta. The more I looked at her, the angrier and more hurt I felt.

"Sam. You aren't supposed to be in here." Areta tried explaining to me.

"Shut-up." I demanded of her. She looked taken aback.

"Sam, what's wrong?" She looked like she was about to have a breakdown.

"Cut the crap. Rosaline explained everything." I pushed the necklace into her chest.

"There's your new tree. I'm leaving." I turned around and started walking away. I heard Areta run up to me and grab my shoulder.

"Just tell me what is wrong. I can explain any questions you have-"

"I know the explanations! I know what is wrong and I know that it won't be fixed by you shooting off more lies!" I pushed off her hand and activated strength. I leaped up into Chyrsalis' spectating box.

"I owe you five. In one month's time, I will attack Omir in ponyville. If I win, I will come back here so you can collect. You have my word." She looked confused until I grabbed her horn and absorbed hive mind. I also got shapeshifting as well.

"Farewell Chrysalis. Areta may go wherever she choses. Do not tell her what I am planning, I want nothing to do with her." I felt a tear run down my cheek and wiped it away. I haven't cried since I was a little kid. Damn her.

I leaped out of the box and back into the Arena. I needed one more thing before I left.

I sped over to Rosaline and place my hand on her head.

"I need regeneration and sturdiness." I took the two from her. I instantly felt like passing out.

_"Sam, you are at a deadline here. You need to assimilate these powers immediately. You got a little lenience from already having regeneration and sturdiness but you still need to assimilate them."_

"Pulse, how are you talking to me?" I asked him.

_"Because Rosaline wants to kill you._" He answered.

I turned towards Rosaline just to be met with a vine whip to the stomach which sent me flying over to Areta, who I noticed was in tears.

I sat up rather shakily. "Stop crying, you don't deserve to cry after what you did." I snapped at her once I finished recovering. I couldn't believe she had the gall to shed tears.

"Don't follow me." I ordered. I heard Rosaline screech behind me. I went into escape mode and rushed into the stands. I pulled out the navigator and quickly made my way out of the hive. I sped along the flats that surrounded the hive until I hit a mountain range. I was exhausted, I could barely feel my legs and I felt like I was vibrating. I found a cave and collapsed in it.

**A/N: No, there won't be a new love interest. The story will be focusing more on Sam for right now. Eventually though, he will meet Areta again. Sorry if that turns some of you off of the story but that's how I want it to go.**


	20. Chapter 20: Ice

**Sam: 28 days till confrontation**

It had been three days since I had woken up in that cave. My plan was to follow up on some of the things Areta and I had heard on our three and a half week journey to the changling hive. My first stop would be the Gryphon kingdom. Namely, a town named Kruestengrad. Apparently, they were suffering from freak snowfall and it was supposedly being caused by creatures. If these rumors were right, I would be able to get some ice powers to up my elemental standing. The traveling was much faster without Areta, albeit a bit lonelier. I hadn't been alone this long since I arrived here a few months ago. According to some gryphons I had passed a few minutes ago, I was about a mile from the town, or to me, about five minutes.

As I sped over the country side, I saw the town start coming up. It looked to be a mining village due to the total lack of farms and other buildings used for much else. I soon reached the village, yet once I stepped inside the town boundary, I was met with a freezing blast of cold air. Snow shimmered into view as if it had been hidden by magic, and desolated fields shimmered into view behind me, also covered in snow.

"What did this?" I asked myself. It had to be something powerful to cause this much snow and cover it up so no one noticed till they actually arrived.

I looked around to see if I could find anybody. I spotted two gryphons standing in the snow. I walked over to them just to find them arguing. One of them spotted me as I approached.

"You'll see Gerald, this stranger isn't involved and can tell us who it belongs to. You there, mutt. Come over here, we are in need of your assistance." He called to me.

"I'm not a mutt. I'm a human." I corrected him, glaring at him for his disrespect towards someone he didn't even know.

"That doesn't matter. We need your help. You are new to this village so you are unbiased. Gerald here stole my left sock right off of my clothesline and won't give it back." He glared at Gerald with intense hatred. The hell was this?

"I did no such thing! Harold stole my right sock from my sock drawer and refuses to give it back." He countered with ferocity.

"A few things. One, this is the dumbest argument I have ever heard. Two, you probably lost the other sock, both of you. Three, you guys don't even wear socks. And four, now you help me. I want to know what happened to this town." I laid down the law, already tired of their idiocy.

They just stared at me dumbfounded. Eventually, one of them spoke up. "You think you're so tough to be bossing us around like that? We asked you for help and this is how you treat this delicate situation?! I don't like him Harold." Apparently Gerald, stated.

"I don't like him either, Gerald." He agreed with an approving nod.

I grabbed their beaks and started squeezing lightly, just enough for them to feel it but not enough to injure them.

"Tell me... what happened." I commanded. I looked into their eyes and could see the fear.

When I let them go, they scrambled backwards. "We don't know, we swear." They said at the same time.

I sighed. "I believe you. You may go." They took off and into one of the buildings, presumably one of the duo's home.

"Well what now?" I asked myself. I hated that, over the past few days, I had gotten into the habit of talking to myself. Pulse wouldn't answer me and I had a difficult time getting into the bands. I really had been alone ever since I decided to drop Areta.

"I know why this town is covered in snow." I soft, yet creepy voice said behind me.

"HOLY shit." I panicked and turned around, tripping and landing in the snow. I saw a gryphon in a cloak standing where I had been a second ago.

"You do? Will you tell me?" I asked him.

"What will you do if I tell you?" He asked me in turn.

"I will acquire their powers and get whatever is doing this to leave, if I can." I answered truthfully. No point in lying, it would get me nowhere.

"Alright, I will tell you. Come with me, being out here in the cold is dangerous." He said as he turned around. I stood up to follow. Little did he know that, by activating my fire breath, I could raise my internal body temperature to roasty toasty levels. A handy trick I had learned on cold nights in my journey to the hive.

As I followed the mysterious gryphon, he kept turning his head when he didn't think I was looking. We made it to his house relatively quickly and entered. He took off his cloak and hung it on a hook. He led me to his sitting room and we sat down.

"Do you know of a creature called a Wendigo?" He asked.

"No, I am afraid I don't." I responded.

"The short of it is; they are creatures of negative feelings. They feed off of them and create snow and ice as a result." When he meant short, he meant short.

"Okay, I assume these are the creatures responsible for this towns situation."

"Yes. The town is in turmoil right now. We weren't always like this. A few months ago, we all got along, we were a strong healthy village. Just as a gryphon village should be; but, petty squabbles started to arise one day. Soon full out fights broke out about petty things, as you witnessed." He explained.

"So where can I find these Wendigos?"

"First, I must know how you intend to fight them and if you will be willing to help out my village." He replied.

"There's always a catch." I complained to myself. "I will help your village, and how I will do it is better shown then explained." I stood up off the couch and went over to his window and, unlatching it, activated fire breath. It would be my trump card against these ice making creatures. I took in a deep breath and forced it all out, lighting it. The cool thing about this power was that I didn't need to breath to keep it up. Somehow it sustained me. Although, I could only keep it up for so long. Five minutes was my longest run in the bands, and that was in ideal conditions. Not to mention it wouldn't be at full strength since I would be constantly using some of its power to keep me warm.

"Wow, you have the breath of a dragon." He exlaimed excitedly.

"Yup, and a few other powers as well. I am hoping to acquire ice at the end of all this." I explained to him.

"Very well, I will show you where they are hiding." He stood up off the couch as well and I followed him to his cloak.

We left and he started off towards the north. The side of town a mountain bordered. We walked for about half an hour, eventually coming upon a cave completely covered over in ice. It looked as smooth and shiny as glass without an imperfection that I could see.

"So this is it eh?" I asked.

"It is." He responded.

"Alright then. If I am not out in the next hour, assume I'm dead." I told him.

He looked shocked. "It comes with the territory buddy. Being the good guy on a mission raises your chance of death by a fairly large margin."

"Just, be safe. I wouldn't want you to get hurt trying to help us." He seemed worried about me all of a sudden.

"Hey, I asked you to lead me to the cave, and you complied. If I die, it's my fault... Look at it this way, saving your village is just a happy accident. Now get out of here before they come out here and find us." I told him.

"Alright." He turned around and started running towards the town. Probably to prepare for when all this snow melted once I killed these things.

"Alright Pulse, stop being a dick. You have to help me on this one." I pleaded with him. No response. "What are you so pissed off about? I'm not pissed at anything, so that means you shouldn't be either." Still nothing. "Fine then, asshole. Have it your way."

I walked into the cave. I was completely wrong about the ice. It only looked solid. It was completely jagged when I looked at the patches already behind me. If I fell on this stuff, I could easily impale myself.

As I walked farther down into the cave, I could feel both the cold and the malice emanating from the creatures. I soon got to a cavern in the cave, lit up by two glowing, ethereal looking horses. They appeared to be sleeping. I entered the cave and used the jagged ice to keep myself from slipping, slightly angling my feet towards the ground. I slowly made my way towards the beings.

Once I reached them, I debated on whether I should destroy one and take the power from the other when it woke up, or just take it now so I don't have to worry about it. I eventually decided to just take the power now. I reached out my hand and pushed it through the one nearest to me, it jolted awake and I could feel its icy power take its rightful place in my bands.

It started panicking and spraying snow everywhere, waking up its friend.

Its friend looked at the original then at me and put two and two together. It flared its nostrils, sending ice shards from it's nose instead of steam.

It charged and reared up in front of me. I tried backing up but realized my mistake too late. The entire cave was a giant lobster trap. Anything could get in if it wanted to, but getting out was near impossible with the way the shards of ice were positioned. All I could do was go forward. I used the angle of the shards to propel myself forward. I was reluctant to use any of my physical powers in here, since most would just be a detriment. All I really had in my corner was my fire breath for offense.

The one I acquired the power from soon calmed down enough to set its sights on me. It charged and I dodged. Its friend sent an icy blast my way, I countered with my firebreath. This startled it and it faltered for just a second, allowing me to gain enough ground to push through its blast, destroying it. Its partner seeing this, charged me. Apparently learning from his comrades mistake. I sent a blast at him when I dodged but he sent his own bolt, cancelling it. These were some powerful creatures, I had to admit. My fire breath was just as, if not more, strong than a dragon's since I had so much practice time with it. They could match me blast for blast. But maybe not for finesse or precision.

I geared up for a forceful blast that would propel me closer to the caverns exit. I landed near it and almost tripped straight onto a shard but caught myself. I turned around to see the wendigo getting ready for an exceptionally strong ice blast. I looked around for anyway to stall him, eventually setting my eyes upon the hundreds of icicles hanging from the ceiling. I shot multiple jabs of fire onto them, causing them to fall. They startled the wendigo just enough to where it lost focus on its charge up. I rushed him in his confusion and got right in its face and put my bands into it, absorbing more of its power and dissolving it with a final blast of fire.

I could feel a lot of my energy gone already but still had enough to melt a lot of the ice in the cave, or at least enough to get me out.

I started making my way out of the cave, melting the ice. I could already feel the average temperature rising as I made my way out. Eventually, I reached the entrance to find the snow already melting under the summer heat.

"I am really glad I don't live here because you guys are boned." I pointed out. More so to myself than the crowd of gryphons amassed at the entrance to the cave.

The gryphon from before came from out of the crowd, still wearing his cloak.

"I can't believe you defeated two wendigos!" He sounded like he didn't believe I could do it.

"It wasn't easy, but they are both dead." I told him.

"Did you at least get what you came for?" He asked.

I activated my new ice powers and started icing over my hand. "Yup." Too bad I couldn't stop the ice. I had to switch to firebreath and melt, burning my hand. I never could come out unscathed apparently. I set regeneration and what little energy I had left, onto the wound.

"We would like to repay you. We can already feel the malice and hate melting from our hearts. Is there anything we can get you?" He asked.

"You guys are omnivores right?" I asked him.

"We are." He responded.

"Could I have some meat? I haven't had a good steak in a while."

"Of course! Scella!" He yelled into the crowd.

"Yes sir?" A female gryphon came out of the crowd.

"Give this..." He faltered.

"Man." I filled in for him.

"Thank you. Man, some meat. We all will compensate you for whatever he eats." He looked out to the rest of the village and they nodded.

"This is Scella, the town butcher. She is the greatest butcher within fifty miles of this town. She will take care of your lust for meat." He seemed to really like being the center of attention for someone who, at first, appeared to be some sort of hermit.

"Thank you. Lead the way Scella." She bowed and turned around and started walking. I followed her.

We walked throughout the town until we came upon a building with a sign of a carving knife on the door.

"Here is my shop. You may request what you like. Do you prefer your meat raw, or cooked?" She asked me as we entered the shop.

"Cooked." I replied.

"Ah, you are one of them." She said aloud. She seemed happy about it, though. Not like she was disgusted by the idea.

"Do you know what kind of meat you would like and in what fashion?" She asked as she got behind her counter.

"Do you have cow?" I sat down at one of the benches she had pointed out.

"I do. Which style would you like it in?" She started looking through her assorted meats to find the beef section.

"Do you know what a steak is?"

"Of course I do! It will be ready in half an hour. Just wait there please." She asked of me.

"Alright."

'Pulse, I got the power of the wendigo as you've probably already noticed.' I thought to him. 'I will need to come into the bands so I can start training with it. This is a powerful one, I can tell. And I will need your help in learning to control it.' I waited for his response.

'I will force my way in if I have to, Pulse. I need to talk to you. We can do this the easy way or the hard way. Your choice.' I was getting fed up with this crap. He was supposed to be my bridge. If he couldn't do that, he might as well not even be there. 'Fine then, you leave me no choice, Pulse. I will be forcing myself in after I am done with this meal. You better be ready to answer my questions.'

A few minutes later, Scella came with a steak that looked to be cooked to perfection.

"Thank you. I haven't had meat in a long time and this looks delicious." I thanked her as I stared down the food.

"It's not a problem. Enjoy. I'll be in the back." I didn't have any utensils so I just decided to use my hands. I gripped into the stack and pulled a large chunk off and used my canines and incisors to rip pieces off. Damn it felt good to eat a steak. I finished about 15 minutes later. The good thing about gryphons, was that they didn't add anything to the meat. It made it a little dry but my hands were still relatively clean afterwards.

"Thanks Scella! I'll be off now." I called to her. I could hear her mumble something back and I left. I made my way out of the town, accepting thank yous and denying gifts I didn't need weighing me down.

Eventually I hit the outskirts of the, still decimated, farming fields. I walked into a nearby forest that was still intact and took to one of the trees with denser foliage. Getting comfortable on the branch, I attempted to access the bands. It took me a few tries and a few hours but I managed to get in.

"Pulse!" I called out.

"Pulse, I swear to God, if you don't come out here right now, I will find you and beat you to within an inch of your life!" I yelled into the expanse.

I waited a few minutes and after no answer, I activated aura eyes. I looked around myself and saw a blue glow a little ways off. I sped over to it as silently as I could. When I arrived, nothing was there. I looked down and saw a little red hair. I grabbed it and pulled it out of the ground, bringing Pulse with it.

I grabbed his neck and hefted him off his feet.

"Answers, now." I commanded.

"What's with you?" He choked out.

"I will kill you. So far you have been nothing but a nuisance to me. You ridicule me, laugh at me, and criticize everything I do. You don't even do your job on a regular basis. You've done it three times since I have gotten the bands. In my mind, I don't need you." I explained to him. This seemed to get through to him since his eyes immediately took on a look of clarity.

"You got rid of her." He rasped.

"You know why I got rid of her, Pulse. You know damn well why. Don't try and act all high and mighty because I got someone out of my life who was just trying to use me." I retaliated. We were not having this discussion.

"She made us strong. You liked her a lot, maybe even loved her. She does one thing, and you leave her." He was actively choking now, I didn't know how he was even talking. I squeezed his neck a little more.

"Look what its done to you. You are about to kill the only ally you have left because you are a little mad at him." He tried reasoning with me.

"I am not going to kill you, this time, and I am more than a little mad. Let's get one thing straight Pulse. You work for me. Not for yourself, not for Cobalt, me. I don't know where you got this notion that you are seperate, because you're not. You are a part of me and you do what I say. Now start doing your job and assimilate ice so I can start practicing with it." I waited for his response. Eventually, he nodded and I dropped him. He landed on the floor coughing up a lung and breathing heavily.

Once he got his breath back he snapped his fingers and some targets appeared along with the boards. The bars were getting longer. I was near one quarter for a lot of them, and past it for a few like speed. Sturdiness and regeneration were at one. My shifting was at one hundred percent, which I was happy about. Switching between powers had been so grueling the first few times.

"Where are we going next?" Pulse asked.

"There is a water nymph that has been terrorizing a pony village about eighty seven miles from here to the south. We will gain the element of water to add to the collection. After that, air. I also want to get some type of armor power and whatever energy blast Omir had. Maybe his sonic blasts as well." I explained to him.

"Why don't you know this already?" I asked him.

"That isn't important right now." He said.


	21. Chapter 21: Gold, Blue, Cobalt, Green

**A/N: My excuse for the lion: Plot convenience. Also, I have been brushing up on my ancient world mythology for this story and found something interesting. In Greece, there was a type of Dryad called a Hamadryad, which I didn't know about. Essentially, Areta is one of them (covering my ass) or I consider her one since the way I wrote her bond with her tree, is what the Hamadryads are, they inhabit the tree. The only problem is, is that there were only eight, and all eight were named. (Although, I can't find anything saying there are or aren't more so I have no idea about that) She is not one of them. I suggest you guys check out a culture's mythology. It can be really interesting and fun to learn about. Also, you will kick ass in english and history class. My 7th grade english teacher had a hard time telling roman and grecian stories apart (that, or she was just messing with me). It is slow going to say the least. It is hard to find things on the internet when you only have a few words to use in the search bar and my own knowledge of myths, well higher than the average person's, isn't all that expansive. I do have a friend who could be considered an expert compared to most people, but I have to wait till monday to get ahold of him. This chapter is also the longest one I have ever written, over 6700 words. With that in mind, I have only read this over (in one sitting) once, so sorry if there are some obvious misspellings or other problems.**

* * *

**Sam: 24 days till confrontation**

I was currently on my way to the Equestrian village that had been having trouble with a Naiad. I was still a few miles away and it was sometime late in the day. I was just cresting a ridge when I was met with a blood curdling roar.

"What the hell was that?" I asked myself. Looking around to find the source. It could have been a manticore, I had fought them on more than one occasion, but this roar sounded different. More lion like in nature than pure beastly like the manticore's.

The ridge I was on was about twenty feet off the ground and past it, sprawled a small forest. I couldn't see anything behind me so I assumed that it had come from below.

I backed up a few feet and gave myself a running start. I leaped off the ridge and activated sturdiness, landing on my feet at the bottom a little ways away from ridge.

I looked behind me to see what appeared to be a golden lion backing a pony up into a cave. The pony looked terrified and the lion looked hungry.

I went into action as soon as I saw the pony. I activated Ice, iced over my hand, and shot three shards at the lions head. They all obliterated on contact. The lion looked away from the pony and towards me, seemingly pissed.

"Are we going to do this or not?" I asked him. I had places to be. I also wanted to keep his attention away from the pony. I was actually kind of scared of this thing. I hadn't yet found something I couldn't at least puncture with my ice shards. They could even go through magic and pony armor. Don't ask how I know that, it's not a pretty story.

The lion rushed me and I did the first thing that came to mind, I split into two copies. One was avian from the dragon battle, and the other was a combination of strength and ice. If I was going to get in close, I needed something to protect me from those claws.

Avian: I flew up and out of the way of the lion. Before it could get over the shock of seeing two copies of Sam, I blasted it with an intense fire on a dive. I looked back to see that I hadn't even crisped it's fur. "What are you?" I asked it in disbelief. Both Ice and Firebreath didn't work on this thing.

Strength: I ran at the lion with some Icy gauntlets and did a flying leap at the beast. I came down with a full punch to its back, intending to cripple it. It stunned him but not much else. There was no other way to stop this thing other than to kill it, so it really didn't matter how much I hurt it. I would eventually need to fuse back up with Avian since we couldn't absorb powers on our own and Sam definitely wanted this thing's armor.

Sam: "What are we going to do, Pulse?" I asked him as we relayed commands to Avian and Strength while watching over the fight.

"I don't know. This thing's hide is like titanium. Ice won't get through it and Fire won't burn it. The only thing I can think of is either strangling it to death, or just beating it to death." He voiced his opinion.

"Well either way, I need to get us back together before we kill it. It will be useless to me if I can't." I explained.

"The coat seems to be impenatrable, but is the inside as well? If it isn't, all Strength would have to do is send an ice spear straight into it's mouth and that should kill it." He suggested.

"I think we should try that." I agreed.

"You can't beat him like that." We heard someone screech. It was the pony from before. Apparently, she hadn't run away yet.

"What do you mean?" Strength asked as he just barely managed to dodge out of the way of the lions claws.

"It is called a Nemean Lion. It's hide is completely impenetrable and its claws are the sharpest things in Equestria. You must leave, you can't win." She yelled.

"I haven't found something that's killed me yet. I fight to live." Avian answered. Seemingly forgeting where he got his firebreath from in the first place.

"Pulse, it's time to regroup." I told him. He nodded and we brought Avian and Strength back together.

I found myself looking at the maw of the lion. I immediately turned on agility and flipped myself out of the way. Though not with out catching its fang across my lower leg. I could feel the leg give when I landed. I needed to finish this, but I also still had to get the lion's armor. I turned on sturdiness and ran towards the lion. Sturdiness helped but the wound was deep and really hurt. My leg was screaming at me as I ran.

Right as I reached the lion, I leaped and switched to agility once more, spinning through the air and placing my hand on the lions back, aquiring its armor.

"Finally!" I yelled as I landed behind him, glad I finally had his power.

I readied Ice and formed my ice gloves to shoot some shards into the lion. When he eventually turned around, he lunged at me. I had no choice but to fire into his mouth repeatedly. He landed on top of me, crushing my ribcage and knocking all the air out of me. I tried to activate strength to get him off of me but I couldn't focus enough with all the pain clouding my mind.

Just as I was starting to panic from lack of oxygen, I felt the creature shift above me. I thought it was still alive. I couldn't believe he survived that! Maybe there was no killing this thing. However, it wasn't the lion that was still alive, it was the pony. More importantly, an earth pony. She finished moving the lion off of me and I greedily took in gulps of precious air. Alternating between coughing and breathing.

"Are you alright?" She asked me. Of course I wasn't! Now that I could see her more clearly. I could tell that she had a yellowish coat and a pink and purple mane styled straight and plain.

"I will be fine in a few hours, hopefully." I was just barely managing to keep myself from screaming my head off from the pain. I could feel multiple broken ribs, my wrist felt broken, and my leg was on fire. That lion was one heavy son of a bitch.

"Well you don't look it." She responded. Then why did you ask?!

"Come on, I will get you to my village, it isn't far from here. It's the least I could for you saving me." She said with a smile. She was starting to annoy me. But, she was trying to help me so I can't fault her too much. I smiled back. "Thanks."

She tried getting me onto her back put that didn't work out to well, what with the multiple broken ribs. I decided to just activate sturdiness and walk. She said that was out of the question but I didn't give her a chance to argue. I started walking into the woods in the direction she had tried to carry me.

"You shouldn't be walking with injuries like that." She tried reasoning with me.

"It's fine. Once we get to your village, I can lay down and rest and will be out of your hair by morning." I explained to her.

"I don't think you will heal that fast. Those injuries really are serious." She emphazied. "You'd be surprised at how fast I can heal. Also, did you not see me split into two seperate beings with amazing powers? I think I will be fine walking a quarter of a mile." I told her.

"Fine, have it your way." She relented.

We walked along in silence till we reached her village. The ponies gave me cursory glances but none seemed to care too much. We reached the mares house in a matter of minutes and she walked me over to her sofa.

"Stay here while I get you some water." She commanded. I guess she didn't like to be useless.

She came back a minute later with a tray and two glasses of water balanced on her back.

"Here." She said as she turned sideways to me so I could grab a glass. I picked it up with my left hand and started drinking. She reached behind herself and grabbed the other glass. I still couldn't understand how they did it. It was like they were magnetic or something, but instead of metal, it's with everything.

She slid the trey onto the table and climbed up next to me on the sofa.

"So, what's your name?" She asked between sips on her straw.

"Sam." I answered. I really didn't feel like getting friendly with anyone or anything till I got back to ponyville. Then, I would either kill Omir, or be killed. After I saved my sister, I'd go back to the changling hive, pay back my debts, and try to find a way home from this god forsaken place.

"That's a nice name. Mine's Berry cream." She said.

"Same goes to you, nice to meet you Berry." I said, trying not to be a complete ass.

"It's nice to meet you too, Sam. So what were you doing out there anyways?" She asked.

"I was on my way to the village a few miles south of here to see if I could deal with their Naiad problem." I answered.

"So, you are a hero then?" She asked, hope in her eyes.

"In deeds, you could say that. In intentions, not even close." I responded.

"What do you mean by that?" I don't regret saving her, but at this point, I do regret letting her take me to her village.

"It's not important." I looked out the window to see the sun going down.

"Well, I guess it's time for bed." I told her, not wanting to keep up the small talk.

"You're right. Well, I will see you in the morning. Do you need anything before I go upstairs?" She asked me.

"Nothing right now, thank you. See you in the morning." Not if I could help it. I didn't want to burden her anymore then I had to. I would probably be gone before the sun rose.

She climbed the stairs and I leaned my head back on the sofa's back. I fell asleep soon afterward to the feeling of my bones repairing themselves.

**23 Days till confrontation**

I awoke early the next morning. The sun was just rising. I stood up off of the sofa and headed towards the door. When I turned the handle, pain shot up my arm. I guess I still had a little ways to go before I was completely healed. I would need to get a good meal in before I could even think about taking on the Naiad. My reserves were extremely low. If I used to much power I might put myself in a coma. My wrist would have to wait.

I had a few bits on me that I had squandered up since the hive and decided to get myself a little veggie snack before I hit the road.

Before I could leave however, Berry cream came out of the kitchen.

"Where are you going?" She asked. I was already half way out the door.

"I...**sigh**... I was leaving." Why did she have to be awake.

"I won't have any of that, now come in here. I made you and I some breakfast." I really didn't want to stay and drain her resources but I doubt she would let me leave. She didn't seem like the type to accept payment either.

I closed the door and walked over to her kitchen area. On the table was about nine or so pancakes and a pitcher of orange juice. There were also some hashbrowns and eggs.

"You made all of this for me?" I asked in bewilderment.

"Of course. To heal, you need calories. These should help you along." She answered.

"I hate to break it to you, but I am already healed." I told her, intentionally ignoring the dull throb in my, now, sprained wrist.

"Then you need to replenish the calories you lost healing." She retorted. Damn, she had me there.

"Alright fine, you win." I conceded. I sat down at the table and picked up the utensils and filled my plate. Once she sat down and filled hers, we dug in. I had to admit, she was an excellent cook. This breakfast was delicious.

We soon finished and I helped her with the dishes. I tried slipping some bits into her coin purse while she wasn't looking but she caught me. She asked how much I had already put in but I wouldn't tell her. It took half an hour of arguing but I finally managed to make her believe I had only put in three instead of the actual fifteen I had put. She gave them back to me and I reluctantly accepted them.

I tried multiple times in the next hour to try and leave but she wouldn't have it. I was stuck with her. Don't get me wrong, she was a kind mare, but I had to get to that Naiad. I only had so much time.

At the moment, I was trying to sneak away again. I had my hand on the door when I heard her voice. "Do you not like me?" She asked with a sad tone.

I turned around to see her sad expression. "I like you, it's just that I really need to get to that village." I explained to her.

"But you aren't ready to go!" She pleaded with me. It was then that something dawned on me.

"Do you... not want me to leave?" I asked her.

She looked like she was about to pass out. "No, not at all." She finally managed to get out.

"I'll be fine Berry. I've taken on dragons, timber wolves, wendigos, and a nemean lion. I think I can handle a Naiad." I left out the part where I was almost killed on each occasion, and barely survived by the skin of my teeth for three of them.

"But... I..." She was at a loss for what to say next.

"I'll be fine. Don't worry about me." I told her. Before she could try and convince me once more to stay longer, I slipped out the door. It was already almost midday. I was not happy. The breakfast from earlier had given me enough energy to heal my wrist but I still needed more before I could take on the Naiad.

I still had a few bits and the market would still be open. I started making my way through the town to try and find it. I eventually found it about a half hour later and started looking around for some fresh fruit.

I eventually found a stand selling apples for four bits per bushel of eleven. I paid the stallion behind the counter and started making my way south out of the town, enjoying my apples.

When I got to the edge of town however, I was stopped by a familiar voice.

"Sam! What a second!" I heard someone call. The only person in town who knew my name was Berry.

I turned around to see her galloping towards me. When she reached me I asked her why she was here.

"I... want to go with you." She answered.

"No." I responded. I turned around and started walking away.

"But why?" She asked. I had no idea why she wanted to come with me.

"Because what I am doing is dangerous and you will only slow me down. I have a deadline to meet and I can't miss it." I explained to her.

"But I-" She started. "No buts about it, Berry. You are not coming along, end of story. I am not risking your life to furthur my quest along." I started walking away again, never having turned around.

I heard her sigh behind me and start trotting away. "Good." I mumbled to myself. I'll be damned if I have another partner in this world. I wasn't going to have a repeat of last time.

I started walking towards the town which I guessed was about two miles away. If I walked at a steady pace I could be there in about half an hour.

I steadily chew through my new supply of apples as I walked. I could feel them charging up the bands for the coming fight. I wouldn't be able to keep going like this much longer. I would need to set up shop for a few days before moving on. If need be, once I defeated the Naiad I could stay in the town and get some free room and board. I wasn't happy about having to mooch off of them but it was the best option.

I was only a few minutes away when I spotted the lake next to the town. It was a large one and I could only barely make out the other end. I didn't see the Naiad anywhere and I didn't see any signs of damage to the town as I made my way closer.

When I reached the town, the ponies seemed to notice my presence more than most places I had been.

I noticed I was in the local market and decided to get some information on the, apparently, false rumor.

I looked around and saw that a carrot stand was the closest to me. I walked over and got the attention of the mare behind the stand. "Excuse me, but I was wondering if the rumor that you were having trouble with a Naiad was true?"

She seemed slightly terrified of me. "Why do you want to know?" She asked, slightly panicking. I decided to go with the hero description of what I was going to do. "I was planning on slaying her for you but it doesn't seem like the rumor was true."

She seemed to calm down a little. I wondered why she was so scared of me. "It is true. We do have a Naiad." She explained.

"Oh, okay. Could you point me in her general direction?" I asked her. She shakily raised a hoof and pointed at the lake. I already knew that, I was hoping for something a bit more precise. "Are there any times where she usually comes out?" She just shook her head.

"Alright, thank you for your time." I left the stand and heard her take in a large breath of air.

"Well that was weird." I mumbled to myself. I began wondering if I looked like the Naiad. I doubted it, but it was the only explanation.

I made my way to the lake and, once I arrived, started walking around it, freezing it as I went to try and get her attention. It wasn't long before I had made it halfway around the lake. When I was starting to think freezing the lake wasn't such a good idea, I heard voices up ahead. Many of them male.

I sprouted my wings and flew up high to see if I could spot them. A little bit away from me was a clearing with a gathering of ponies and what appeared to be a blue woman. "Bingo." I went into a slight dive and pulled up at the last second and, dissolving my wings, landed inbetween the crowd and the woman. Who I noticed also had long sea green hair.

"Hello everypony. Is this the Naiad?" I asked them.

"Look, it's another one!" One of them shouted. Others started agreeing with him.

"Do I look like a Naiad? No, I don't. I am a human. I actually came here to stop this Naiad." I explained to them. They didn't seem to buy it.

"They just keep popping up, we might as well kill both of them and just be done with it!" The same guy yelled. The crowd agreed and started advancing towards me. This was getting out of hand really fast.

"Are you sure you want blood on your hooves?" I asked them. This made a few of them hesitate but most still walked forward.

"Okay, this is pointless." I said. I sprouted my wings.

I turned around to face the Naiad and stuck out my hand. "Time to go." I told her. This had not gone according to plan. She rushed forward and latched on to my body as hard as she could.

"Or do that, hang on." I told her as I flapped to get into the air. The extra weight wasn't doing me any favors. I managed to get high enough into the air so they couldn't reach us. I was really glad this particular town seemed to made up entirely of earth ponies.

I angled us and started flapping forwards so we could go out over the lake. If she was anything like Areta, I knew I shouldn't take her over the forest. I could already feel her power over water being absorbed into the bands. This was my easiest win in a long time. Apparently, she didn't have anything else useful to me because I only got the power over water.

"Can you create a platform for us to land on?" I asked her. By now we were in the middle of the lake. I had decreased my altitude and was now hovering above the water's surface.

She nodded and the water started swirling below us. She nodded again and I cut off my wings. My back muscles already tired from flying. We landed on what felt like concrete. When I touched the water, I couldn't even feel it.

"Thank you for saving me." She said after we had recovered.

"Don't thank me. I actually came here to kill you." I bluntly told her.

She looked petrified and was about to dissolve the platform before I spoke. "But I am not anymore!" I yelled at her. She calmed down a little bit but I could tell she was primed to disolve the platform at a moments notice.

"Why?" She asked, wary.

"I wanted your power, and I had heard you had been terrorizing this town. I see now that, that particular part of the rumor was wrong." I explained. I sat down on the platform to rest my legs from the long walk.

"How do you know?" Wow, she was a paranoid one. That, or smart.

"Because you wouldn't have let them get that close to you if you were. Nor would you be out of the lake." She seemed to soften at my response. Now that I got a closer look at her, it was like looking at Areta only with a different color scheme. She had large breasts, smooth curves, the exact same dress only blue, and the same hair style only sea green. Even her face looked similiar. I started wondering if all humanoid creatures looked this way. I could obviously expect there to be more types of nymphs out there. I just had to find them and take their elemental powers.

"You said you wanted my power?" She asked after a few minutes of silence.

"Already got it." I told her. Demonstrating my new found ability, albeit a little clunkily. I rose a small ball of water out of the lake but I quickly lost my hold on it. Apparently, she had calmed down enough to giggle at my pathetic attempt to do something she had mastered a long time ago.

"Well, I got what I came for. I'll be seeing you." I said as I got up. My back was still too tired to fly so I activated Ice and started freezing a bridge across. I was really into having Ice powers, they were freaking amazing.

"Wait." She called. Seriously, more of this crap? Why can't people just meet me and be done with it.

"Yes?" I asked as I turned around to face her.

"Can you help me?" She asked.

"Sorry, I can't. I have already been in the situation that is the answer to your problem, with a Dryad, and it didn't end well. In fact, I'm surprised I can even stand looking at you." I explained to her. I turned back around and, once again, started making my way across the lake.

I heard her running up to and turned around right before she wrapped her arms around me. "Please? You have to help me. I can't stay near these ponies anymore, they'll kill me once you leave. I'm not strong enough to beat them without help." She pleaded with me.

"I'm sorry. I will not tolerate a repeat of what happened last time. And I am not going to slaughter a bunch of ponies just because you ask me too. And I won't destroy their town, so don't ask for that either." I told her.

"What made you hate nymphs so much?" She asked as I pushed her off of me.

"How about being seduced when I wasn't ready. Then being lied to about it. I was tricked into giving a nymph my virginity just so we could stay together! And in the end, it was all for nothing!" I yelled at her in frustration. She backed away from me.

"Now you see why I originally came here to kill you. I hate nymphs and nothing will change that." I turned around and started walking away. I could hear her crying to herself. Great! Now I felt like an ass.

I turned back around and headed back towards her. When I reached her, she looked up at me with fear in her eyes. "If you are going to be such a baby about it, then fine. I will help you. Give me an hour or two and I should be back with a solution." For the fourth time, I started making my way across the lake. I eventually made it to the edge with no ponies in sight. My ice bridge was already melting.

I looked around for a decent place to enter the training grounds. I saw a perfect looking tree and, once again, climbed it. I got comfortable in the branches and entered the training grounds.

"Pulse!" I called out.

"Yeah?" I heard behind me. I turned to face him.

"I need to know if I can actively take in an aura if both myself and a nymph will it to happen." I told him my problem.

"Cobalt doesn't see the problem. I thought you were done with nymphs?" He asked.

"She won't shut up. And I felt bad about leaving her to die. Thanks for the help." I turned around to leave.

I woke up in the tree to see almost no time had passed. For this to work I needed a piece of jewelry. I could probably find one at the town. It was risky going there, but that's the only place I could think would have some. I really didn't want to have to walk all the way back to Berry's town.

I was tired of walking everywhere so I decided to just speed my way to the town. I worked my way through it till I found what I assumed was the mayors office. I walked in and over to the reception area.

"I need an audience with the mayor." I told the receptionist.

She looked frightened of me too, but I couldn't care less at this point.

"Sure, go on in." She replied.

"Thank you." I walked over to the door and went through it to find the mayor behind his desk.

When he looked up I started my demands. "To get rid of your Naiad problem, I need a high class piece of jewelry." I told him.

"What?" He asked, confused.

"Your Naiad problem. I can fix it. But to do so I need a high end piece of jewelry to fit her aura inside so she can leave." I explained to him. He looked really happy that he could get rid of the Naiad this easily. That, or he was an idiot who didn't even think of the idea that I could be lying.

"Of course! Thank you sir. We are indebted to you. Take this stamp of approval to the jewelers at the end of the road." He gave me a parchment with a stamp and his signature.

I bid him a thanks and left the town hall. Today was a good day for me. I was dreading what would ruin it.

I made my way to the jewelers and walked in. I showed him the parchment and he practically threw the necklace at me. I left as soon as possible.

My back muscles felt much better now so I decided to spread my wings. I flapped powerfully and rocketed into the air. I soared over the lake and saw the Naiad down below. I dove just like earlier and pulled up at the last second, dispelling my wings and landing on her platform.

I accidentally startled her since she screamed her head off when I landed.

"It's just me." I calmly stated with my hands raised.

"Don't do that! You almost gave me a heart attack!" She berated me.

"Sorry. Anyways, I got everything you need. I don't know exactly how to go about this but I do have an idea. I need you to put your hands in the lake and pretend you are transfering the aura that connects you and it, to these bands on my wrists. I will also have my hands in the water." I explained to her how I thought this would work.

After a moment of thought, she put her hands in the lake and I did the same, willing the aura into the bands. Eventually, I could feel a surge of immense power flowing through Cobalt.

"Got it." I told her. "We need to get off of this platform before I transfer the aura to the necklace. Can you get us to land?" I asked her. She nodded and we started moving at a decent pace towards the shore, arriving a few minutes later. I stepped off her platform and walked a little bit away from the water.

"Alright, I am going to put your lake's aura into this necklace. Once that happens, as long as you are within a few hundred feet of it, you should be fine no matter how far you are away from this lake. A heads up, I might feint after I transfer the aura. It happened last time." I told her. She looked like she herself was about to pass out.

"Are you alright?" I asked her.

"I'm fine, it's all just a lot to take in. I didn't really think you could do it. But I guess if you can take the aura from the lake, your story about the dryad and you is true." She answered.

"Please. Don't bring her up." I asked. She just nodded.

I started the process and focused on the aura of the lake. It seemed much easier this time to transfer it. Maybe because I hadn't had at as long, although, I still feinted.

I awoke sometime later on the lap of the Naiad. "Ahhhh!" I yelled in panic, quickly scrambling off and away from her.

After I calmed down enough to speak I explained the situation to her. " You are free to go wherever you like now. Just try not to piss off any more ponies, okay?" I asked her.

"I will try not to." She looked really sad. "It will be fine. You will find a nice new lake to settle down in and you can keep the necklace at the bottom of it, that way, it will be just like before. Don't worry about it." I reassured her.

"I don't know how I can repay you for this, you saved my life and given me something I never thought I would have, freedom." She exclaimed.

"You don't have to repay me. I was just doing a job." I callously explained.

"But, there must be something." She tried once more.

"There isn't anything that I want that you can give me." I told her, as I laid back to stare at the rising moon. I would have to find a place to sleep soon. This grass was pretty comfortable, it would probably work.

Suddenly, the Naiad appeared in my vision. "There is one way I can repay you." She said with a blank face. "What are you talking about, I said-" I was cut off as she climbed on top of me and smashed our lips together. My first instinct was to activate strength and thrust my hips up to get her off. It did the trick and she went flying and landed a few feet away. I quickly got up before she could try again.

"You nymphs are all the same! All you want is sex! I can't believe I helped you, and this is how you attempt to repay me. By doing the one thing that I told you made me hate your kind in the first place. I can't believe you." I chewed her out. She looked sad.

"But this is how nymphs show affection. This is how we show we are grateful." She tried to explain. "Well then I don't want your gratitude!" I yelled at her. I turned around and started walking away, fuming.

I could hear her running up to me. I turned around and held my arm up, blocking her. I caught her just as she was about to ram into me, and pushed her back. Accidentally tripping her in the process. She landed hard in the grass with a pained moan.

"Leave. Me. Alone." I explicitly stated, angrier than ever. I turned around once more, hoping she got the message.

"No!" I heard her yell. I turned around to look at her. I could see her crying profusely yet she wasn't making a sound.

"What did you say?" I asked her.

"I said no. You need to learn that a nymph's gratitude means everything to us. We only give it out when we feel that whomever it is we are giving it to, has earned it. I need you to understand that, by helping me, you are now something I can rely on. You are like my lake. And I can bet that Dryad thought of you as her tree. You can't just leave us like that-"

"And why not?! You knew I didn't want you for your body and you tried anyway. The same happened with Areta. Her and another Dryad were fighting over me and she said the only way we could stay together is if we consumated. I go to bed and wake up with her naked on top of me. I tell her no and she attempts again. We get a little farther and I panic once more. Once I calm down, she trys again. And then, we go all the way. The next morning, she just leaves spouting some random bullshit about it being a mistake, that it shouldn't of happened like that. I then learn that all she wanted from me all along, was to have sex with me and that she was planning on leaving me for someone else as soon as she saw them. How can I accept you when I know exactly what you are!" I laid it all down. I didn't want her shit. I didn't want her gratitude. I wanted her to get the hell out of my life. She quickly got up and made her way over to me. I thought she was going to try and hug me again but instead, she slapped me.

"You are a cruel man. I am glad you don't want my gratitude now." She whispered. I could still see tears running down her cheeks.

"Good." I told her. I turned around so I could get far away from her.

"You should know, once a nymph consumates, they never forget it. Their first love, is their only love." She said to me. That stopped me in my tracks.

"What do you mean?" I asked her.

"When a nymph consumates for the first time, she does it out of pure love and adoration. Giving your virginity to someone is a precious thing in our world. If she was a virgin, then she will never forget you. She will never leave you if she can help it. She will never love another, she can't." She explained to me in a sad voice.

I could feel tears streaming down my face. "I...I don't believe you." I pathetically stated.

"Of course you don't." She said it like she knew something I didn't. I needed to get away from her. If I didn't, I might decide to do something I didn't want to do. I started running at a full sprint away from her.

"I hope you realize the truth soon!" I heard her call to me. I needed to go somewhere safe. I couldn't take any more for the day. I was exhausted, both physically and emotionally. I soon came upon a nice open grove with a rock formation in it. I climbed and spent the night tossing and turning, thinking about Areta.


	22. Chapter 22: Upgrade

**A/N: I spent an hour and a half going through dozens of webpages looking for a mythological creature that I could use for Sam to acquire sound. I didn't find any. Banshee is the closest thing I could come to in any regard, so Sam won't get the power over sound (which, besides Ice powers, is a power I thought would be really badass to have in the real world. Screw strength and flight). This is a prime example of why I hate the internet 90% of the time I'm on it. Largest collection of human knowledge on the planet my ass. Note to children: Don't EVER touch fiberglass. If it is cloudy, and looks like it is glass at the same time, stay away from it. You will know the reason for this warning later in the chapter. And yes I have touched fiberglass, it sucked.**

* * *

**Sam: 14 days till confrontation**

It had been little more than a week since I had seen that Naiad, and I was glad. I didn't want to believe what she had said, but I could tell with Applejack's truth seeking that she was telling the truth. To be honest, I had forgotten about it till I had seen it on the skill board in the training grounds. I needed to make sure I knew every power I possessed, off the top of my head. I hadn't used it until then and I was worried about what would happen if I had made a mistake. I had no way of telling whether Rosaline was telling the truth or not, but Dryads were smart, she could probably pull it off. I only had two weeks left and now was not the time to be having an emotional crisis. One way or another, I would have to see Areta again. If I was wrong, I couldn't imagine what would happen.

I hadn't had much luck in finding creatures with useful powers. I had found a cockatrice, but I didn't want the power of medusa, it just seemed wrong and immoral. I had gone through many of the rumors I had picked up over the last month and a half since leaving Ponyville, almost none of which produced results. I had found out that my water ability was completely useless to me. It would let me breath under water and control water, but I seemed to be unable to make it lethal in any way. Unless I choked someone, which I thought was extremely cruel and wasn't going to do. Everything else Water could do, Ice could do better and with greater ease. It was next to worthless.

Currently, I was on my way to check out one of the last rumors I had come across. Supposedly, there were some Wind nymphs, or as the ponies called them, Aurai, that had been raiding some villages in the area I was currently in.

As I was scouting the horizon to find one of the villages, something caught my eye. Up in the clouds was a speck of red rapidly going through them. It looked really awkward, almost like it wasn't whole. Cobalt could only magnify my senses so much, and it was just out of my field of detail. Against my better judgement, I flew up after it.

As I slowly gained on the zippy little thing, I started noticing that I was right. It wasn't whole, in fact, it looked almost like hair. I had a suspicion that it was a nymph, but wasn't completely sure.

As I approached, I started seeing the outline of a person, well, half of a person as what would be the bottom half, seemed to be just smoke.

Eventually, I got close enough to get a good look at what I assumed was the Aurai.

She, of course, it just had to be a she, looked a lot like me surprisingly. She had skin akin to mine and her hair was the same shade as well, where as Areta's was a deep set red like apples, our's was a more fiery orangish-red. She seemed to looke much more like Areta and the Naiad as I looked at her. However, before I could strike up a conversation, I was struck from behind with something hard, right inbetween my wings. This had a very terrifying effect as I suddenly couldn't move my wings. I tried flapping, but they just wouldn't respond.

I could see the ground coming up fast. If I didn't do something soon, even Cobalt's protective shield wouldn't be able to save me.

I mentally raced throught my list of powers and eventually came up with a very risky idea. I dissolved my wings and started up Ice. My hands started freezing over like they normally did, but instead of stopping it there, I willed it to quickly cover my body in a rock hard casing. It finished just as I hit the ground. I could feel it shatter into millions of Ice shards, many of them going into my skin and clothes. I could feel larger shards piercing me in my limbs and a smaller one, the size of a toothpick, in my side.

I could feel the blood coming out of the holes. It felt like I had tried to hug a fiberglass teddybear. It wouldn't be too hard to fix myself up, a couple of minutes at most, but it hurt like a son of a bitch.

Using Firebreath, I warmed up my body to uncomfortable levels of heat, melting the shards in the process. I quickly turned on regeneration and could feel all the pinpricks slowly closing. As I laid there, I could hear powerful breezes up above me. Eventually, I felt most of pricks close and stood up.

I looked up towards the sky and saw one of the Aurai. She quickly flew away. Without a second thought, I sped after her, not daring to try flying again.

I kept my eyes on her and the ground above me as I chased her. However, I also kept my ears open, commanding Cobalt to enhance them instead of my eyes. It worked out in my favor, as I heard the sound of strong breezes behind me as well. I stopped suddenly and was met with a blast of air that shot me a few yards away from where I had been standing.

I looked around for Aurai who had done it, but couldn't see anything. I activated aura eyes and locked on to a creamy white aura somewhere above me. I quickly changed to firebreath and shot a bolt at it. In return, a golden spear was thrown at me. I dodged out of the way, barely being missed, and sent another blast to where the spear had come from.

This time, I was met with nothing.

"Giving up already? Even the Naiad would have put up more of a fight." I said, trying to taunt them out. It worked and I was rewarded with another golden spear from a different direction.

"I see, you are too scared to face me. Afraid I will beat you hunh?" I asked the surrounding cloud covering that had started to set in directly above the sparse treetop.

"We are not afraid!" A firm, yet feminine voice shouted.

"Then show me!" I called out to them, issuing my challenge.

Suddenly, two beings came down from the cloud covering and landed on the ground. They looked just like the Aurai from before. They had spears that looked like the ones that had been thrown at me.

They seemed shocked to see me.

"A male Aurai!?" The taller of the two exclaimed. "We haven't seen one of your kind in thousands of years! Brother, why do you play these games?"

I debated on whether or not to go along with this brother Aurai crap. I decided against it, assuming lying to them would just make them angry.

"I'm not going to lie to you. I am not an Aurai." I told them.

They seemed slightly angry, yet they didn't attack.

"Why are you here? Why were you in our territory?" The shorter one asked.

"A little flippant are we?" I asked her. She didn't seem fazed, but her taller friend seemed to be holding back a snicker. I didn't know why, it wasn't that funny.

"Just answer the questions!" She demanded.

If she wanted answers. "I came here to stop you from raiding pony villages, and if possible, acquire your wind powers." I doubted lying would make anything better. Plus, it served no purpose. I was going to get their wind powers one way or another.

"Why do you wish to save the ponies? Are they your allies?" The shorter one asked, I assumed at this point that she was the one in charge. These Aurai gave off a very amazonian vibe.

"No, it was just an excuse if I ever met any of them. If I did, they would point me in your direction so I could aquire your abilities. I also probably would have asked you to stop." I explained to them.

"So you are an ally!" She accused me, leveling her spear at me.

"No, not really. I was friends with a few of them at one point, but that is behind me. Right now, all I want to do is save my sister." She seemed to waver when I said the word 'sister'.

"You...are trying to protect family?" She asked in a shaky voice. The tall one didn't seem to know what to do at this point.

"Yes, I am. She is in danger and I have been going around and collecting abilities to save her." I explained to them. Apparently, I had hit a soft spot. This seemed to be the perfect thing to exploit to get them to help me.

The short one didn't seem to know how to respond, almost as if she were in a daze. I didn't really want to waste anytime here.

I sped up straight to her and looked down at her.

"If you aren't going to be doing anything else, I will be taking your abilities now." I told her. "Wha-" She attempted before I shot my hand out and onto her forhead. I could feel the power of air going into Cobalt. It didn't seem very strong. I really hoped this wasn't another water. I also felt something else go into the bands that I couldn't identify. I decided to ask Pulse about it later.

I turned on agility and flipped away from them before they could retaliate.

"See you girls... probably never now that I think about it." I called to them as I started sprinting away.

I only got a few steps in before I heard one of them screech bloody murder. I soon heard them closing in on me. I cranked it up a notch to get away from them. I didn't get very far, I ran headlong into a pole and was essentially clotheslined. I was going so fast I actually flipped up into the air and landed several feet away from the pole.

I stood up, still trying hard to make my throat work, and noticed that the two Aurai were holding the spear.

"You." The short one snarled at me in a hate filled voice. "You, have violated me!" She screamed.

"I...didn't...violate...you." I managed to rasp out. This was soon followed by a cough that would shame a hardcore smoker of sixty years. I soon stopped and could feel my throat returning to normal.

"Yes you did! You touched me with those hands! I have never been touched by a male before, it felt wrong. Unnatural." She explained.

"So what happens now?" I asked her.

"We kill you." She responded. Before I could even voice my complaints, she lunged forward with her spear. Using agility, I spun out of the way. However, I felt a sudden whack to the face and the next thing I knew, the back of my knees hurt and I was on ground with a spear pointed at my face. I immediately donned my golden armor, just in time for it to deflect the attack off of my cheek. I felt a slight stinging there and knew it had pierced just a little. The armor wouldn't be perfect until I used it enough in real battle.

I scissored my legs, sending shorty to the ground. Her friend suddenly appeared in the air behind her. I instinctually rolled to the right as her spear stabbed the ground where my head was. I quickly got up and turned on dexterity, read for an up close and personal fight.

Towers had abandoned her spear and flew slash ran towards me. As she reached me, I twisted and did a three-sixty and landed a type of karate chop to the back of her neck, sending her down into the dirt.

At this point, the short one had stood back up and charged. Hearing her behind me, I immediately dropped and went parrallel to the ground. I raised my legs up and did a sort of donkey kick to her stomach, all in a matter of a second or two, sending her flying a few feet backwards. I didn't know how I was doing this good. Something was different. Sure, Dexterity helped me get up there in hand to hand, but nothing ever like this.

Towers had risen by now and leaped into the air. I could feel a slight tingling in my neck and turned just in time to grab her leg, turn on strength, and swing her around; eventually swinging her hard into the ground. She tried to get up but fell back down, out for the fight.

I still didn't know how I was doing this. These women were clearly good fighters, but I was wiping the floor with them, disregarding the very beginning.

Shorty had recovered and leveled her spear at me. Getting ready to throw it, I turned on agility to dodge. However, she didn't just throw it, she essentially blasted it forward. I tried getting out of the way, but wasn't quick enough. It caught me my left shoulder and I was sent backwards and nailed to a tree. It would have been excrutiating had it not been for the large amount of adrenaline coursing through my veins.

Shorty blasted forward like her spear and sent her fist straight into my gut. I had just enough time to activate my armor but it could only do so much against blunt attacks. Cobalt's shield was more for that but it wasn't exactly powerful.

She started wailing into me with everything she had. It felt like I was being beaten up by an industrial piston. I shut off my armor and turned on fire breath. With one large breath, I spewed out the hottest bolt I could muster. Shorty screamed and fell backwards, writhing on the ground.

I reached up to the spear and, using strength, pulled it out of the tree and myself. I set regeneration on and hoped it would heal enough to be ready for me to at least fight before shorty recovered.

It was slow going and shorty seemed to be recovering much faster from her burn.

I needed to do something so I could get away.

Thinking on the spot, I turned on Ice. I froze over my good shoulder's hand, and walked over to shorty. She sat up, feeling my approach, and I quickly put my hand on her head, flash freezing her. She would be thawed out within half a day. Probably. It wasn't an exact science.

I turned on sturdiness and started walking away, clutching at my severely damaged shoulder. I was losing blood fast and I hadn't gone very far. I was eventually forced to stop and sit down. Reluctantly, I turned on regeneration. This would take a few hours to heal, I realized. Skin was easy, but large muscle and bone was another story.

I could feel myself starting to pass out. Whenever I used regeneration too much, I became overwhelmingly tired. I tried to fight it but I eventually passed out.

**13 days till confrontation**

I woke up some time later in the night, probably around dawn. I looked around to see Towers and shorty where I had left them. They could dish it out, but they didn't seem to be able to take it.

My shoulder felt better but I could tell I wouldn't be doing much with it until it healed. I stood up, wobbled a bit, and started slowly walking. I felt weak from the blood loss. My body would have to replace that all on it's own. Regeneration wasn't perfect, I was starting to notice that more and more.

As I was walking, I decided to check if Omir's power had expanded to include more ponies. However, I couldn't find it. It was gone, all of it. I could still feel the source of the mind control coming from Ponyville, but I couldn't feel any of it's tendrils.

'Pulse. What do you make of that?' I thought to him.

"_I have no idea. Neither does Cobalt. The best he can think of is Toxic green found someway to hide his power from us."_ He responded.

'Hmm. I don't have any leads to track down for new powers. What do you think about visiting Omir early?' I asked him.

"_I think it's a bad idea. All of these powers, you just recieved. Sure, you have had some practice with them, or in Ice's case, hardcore training; but you still aren't in tune with them like you are strength and speed. And with the loss of the Dryadic tree, your training is coming along much more slowly than usual. Are you ready to confront Areta?" _He asked.

'No. I don't know if I can ever do that. If Rosaline was telling the truth, then I don't know if I could handle it. If she was lying, I don't know how I would deal with myself.' I answered. 'By the way, that fight back there was something else. I could feel their moves as they were doing them. The only time they caught me off guard was when the short one used her elemental power.'

"_You acquired your first fundamental ability. Granted, I could classify aura eyes and truth seeking as such, but I didn't think you would want those on all the time.'_ He answered.

'What do you mean fundamental? I thought that meant that I could change the fabric of reality?' I could see the exit to the forest a few dozen feet from where I was. I would be out soon and would probably be able to find a nearby village. Hopefully.

"_You forget, fundamental also classifies things that affect the bands themselves. The Dryadic tree itself, was a fundamental power. But Cobalt didn't think you could handle it so he locked it away."_

'Wait, so you mean to tell me, that you and Cobalt can decide where to classify an ability? And you still haven't told me what it is.' I was a little irritated now.

"_Only when it comes to abilities that fall under fundamental. This is because, since they affect the bands, they are on all the time. You can't turn them off unless you specifically command me or Cobalt to do so. And if you need it, it will take a few minutes for it to turn back on. You can use these types of powers like you weren't using any at all, as evidenced by you using strength and Ice while still using it. And the power you have, is extra sensory input.'_ After he finished his mini-speech, he seemed to start thinking about something.

'Well, what does it do?' I asked him.

_"Essentially, it substantially increases your sensory input. If you can barely hear something that is one hundred feet away, with out it. Then with it, you can hear it as if it is right next to you. However, this power, since it is so powerful, also tells you how far away something is if you hear it and it is not in your natural range. It also doesn't make you deaf if someone screams in your ear, unless it would regularly. Your sense of touch is the one that has the most improvement. With all of the fine hairs on your body, you can sense minute temperature change, wind change, basically anything having to do with your immediate surroundings. This is the most powerful thing you have come across. I expect you to use it right, Sam."_

'I can't believe it does all of that.' I thought to myself.

"_It's a fundamental power. If it didn't it'd be useless. You were lucky to find one, let alone four. I highly doubt any reality altering powers are even in Equestria, so you finding this many is a miracle in and of itself...There is one little hitch however."_ He stated regretfully.

'Of course there is.' I responded.

"_With each one of these you gain, the easier it is for you to be corrupted. The reason the last band wearer went as crazy as he did, is because he absorbed one too many fundamental powers. They went to his head. He essentially developed a God complex. He had five. You have one in the category. These powers can't just be thrown out willy nilly either. You have to spend weeks in a meditative state just to have a chance at getting it to come out. Not to mention you have to have somewhere for it to go. This kind of power won't fit in a necklace, no. You need to find magical stones, and those are few and far between."_ He informed me.

'Things just can't be easy can they? There is always a limit.' I complained to him. I was out of the forest at this point. I started scanning the horizon to see if I could locate a town. I saw one about five or six miles ahead of me. I might be able to get there before dawn.

"_For something to be amazing, it has to have an end. Otherwise, it's just ordinary."_ He said.

'Didn't know you were an amateur philosopher, Pulse.' I teased him.

"_Shut up, Sam."_


	23. Chapter 23: End of the Beginning

**A/N: Okay. I just saw that Omir was originally Aaron. Oops. The character's name is Omir. Sorry for the mix up. Did get a laugh out of me though.**

**Sam: Day of confrontation**

'Seriously, Pulse? You can't find it anywhere?' I asked him. Omir's presence had all but disappeared from Equestria, or, at least his mind control had.

"_He is still there, but his power isn't. It's like he shut it off."_ Pulse responded.

'Why, though? He's a bad man. He wouldn't just up and turn off something that could get him whatever he wanted. He would use it to his heart's content.' I said. This didn't make any sense to me.

"_Cobalt and I have no idea. His power is so faint, we can barely see him in Ponyville. And we are right here! Maybe something happened. Maybe something, or someone, got to him first."_ He suggested.

'I doubt it. He was strong, remember? I could barely touch him last time we met, and I have fought and won against just about everything in Equestria, since. Maybe it's a trick?' I asked him. We were currently looking at the Apple's farmhouse from the treeline. Omir was supposedly in the middle of town.

"_Either way, I want to know. You go in there, sneak up on him, and bash his head in. Got it?"_ He demanded.

'What!? No, that's just cruel. I want to win fair and square. Then I'll kill him for touching, and taking, my sister and taking over half of Equestria, got it?' I told him.

"_Fine, have it your way."_ He relented.

'Good.'

I sprinted to the farmhouse and looked inside to find the other half that I couldn't see before, completely gone.

"What the fuck?!" I yelled on instinct. I quickly clapped my hand over my mouth and looked around. I didn't see any ponies or Omir.

'What happened?' I thought to myself.

"_Next time, don't yell 'What the fuck?' when you see half of a building gone, dumbass. And how the hell should I know?"_ Pulse responded.

'I wasn't talking to you.' I told him.

I made my way into the barn and out of the destroyed half. I made my way up the hill that overlooked Ponyville. When I crested the hill, I was met with a disaster. The town looked absolutely destroyed with roofs gone, walls crumbled and collapsed, and whole buildings just gone. The damage still looked fresh since there were small smoke stacks rising off of some of the houses, as if they were burned.

I could see a crowd of ponies gathering in the center of town around a makeshift stage. On top of it, stood Omir and my sister. I felt my blood boil. What had he done to this town?

I turned on speed, and raced towards him. I made my way through the crowd and on to the stage.

Omir turned to look at me, surprise on his face. "Sam? I thought you were gone. Good, I need hel-" I cut him off with a hard punch to the face and, using agility, spun through the air and delivered a kick to his head, sending him flying down and off of the stage.

"What did you do?!" I screamed at him. He looked up at me with what appeared to be fear in his eyes.

"I didn't do-" I leaped off the stage and smashed my fist into his face with strength, sending him into the ground. The ponies gasped and some of the children shied away from the scene.

I grabbed his shirt collar and hefted him up. "First, you take control of their minds while I was hurt. Then, you almost kill me after launching me into the air after you attempt to violate my sister. And then you have the gall to destroy their town! I can gaurantee that you won't live to see another day Omir! I am tired of your shit, this ends now!" I yelled at him.

"Sam, you have it wro-" I launched my fist into his fast, sending him flying over the crowd of ponies. He recovered in the air and landed sloppily on his feet, wheeling backward from the force. He caught his balance and stood straight.

"Sam, you have to stop!" I heard Emily scream. I turned towards her. "Now he has you too?" I asked her. I turned back towards Omir. I launched myself at him. He caught my arm and, using my momentum, swung me off of his shoulder into the air. I went flying a couple dozen feet from the speed I had, had. Using the air around me, I controlled my descent and landed softly on the ground. I couldn't fly with air, but I could practically glide.

"Sam, if you won't listen to us willingly, then I'll make you listen." Omir said.

"Bring it on!" I called at him. He shot forward. Using dexterity, I crouched just as he got to me. As his left knee was coming out for another step, I launched my fist into it along with my hand grabbing his shirt. I pulled him along and threw him over my head into a nearby tree.

I sped over to him and, using strength, pistoned my fist into his chest.

"You wanted a fight Omir? Well now you got one." I whispered to him. I could see blood running down his face from bashing into the tree.

"Sam, you have to listen to me." He started. "I don't have to listen to any of the shit you pull out of your ass." I interupted.

I started punching him repeatedly in the stomach. When I got tired of this, I brought him back from the tree and aimed into the orchard. I had a grip on his shirt and launched him. He flew over the orchard.

I followed him and could see that he had acquired wings. He landed near the Apple's farmhouse.

He looked like he had broken his knee and his head looked like it was about to fall off. I could see bruising through the tears in his shirt.

"I will make you stop Sam." I heard him say. His voice was weak.

"Give it your best shot, you piece of shit." I answered. I wouldn't allow him to win.

He raised his hands and pointed them at me. I felt a tingling on my neck, signalling something was changing.

He fired off a sonic blast. I jumped up and over it and landed back on the ground. I felt another one coming my way followed by three on the edges, making it impossible for me to avoid them. Unless I knew where they were. I leaped up into the air, and went through a small gap between the shockwaves. I twisted and landed down a few yards from Omir.

"How did you-" He began. "Dodge them? Not going to tell you. Let's just say I have developed a few tricks for your little sonic blasts." I told him. It was pretty fun to interrupt him.

He shot forward with his fist out. At the last second, I grapped his fist and turned his body towards the ground, making him hit it with a satisfying thud. I could hear him groan.

I picked him up by his neck. I covered my other hand in my ice and formed a blade, holding it up to his neck. A handy new trick I discovered by accident a few days ago.

"You hurt so many creatures here. You destroyed lives, ruined an entire village. And for what? Because you could? Well that ends here. I am not above killing you to make this place better. Even if it's the last thing I do." I told him.

"You were always impulsive, weren't you Sam?" He said as he looked me in the eyes.

I brought the blade away from his neck, and brought it into a stabbing position. Before I could thrust however, I felt something hard hit the back of my head. I dropped Omir and turned around. I was met with a slap to the face and a kick to the knee.

I fell backwards and looked up. I saw Emily above me, crying.

"You don't understand anything do you?" She asked me.

"What are you talking about?" I asked her, as I rubbed my sore cheek.

"Equestria fixed him, Sam! The bands and Equestria fixed him! When he went through the portal, it started. It finished a few weeks ago. When he realized what he was doing, he immediately turned off the mind control. And the thing that destroyed the town? That was a family of dragons who wanted revenge for the one you and Celestia killed!" She looked depressed and angry all at the same time.

She went over to Omir and started checking on him.

I laid my head in my hands. I just didn't know anymore. Everything I did, was wrong. Every life I touched, I somehow ruined. I couldn't win in this world. And even when I had, I had thrown it away.

I felt a hand on my shoulder. I looked up to see Emily, her face full of anger. "I can't believe you did that, Sam. We both tried to tell you what was going on, and you didn't listen. You just attacked him. I know you were never one for control, but this takes it too far. You almost killed him." She explained. She looked like she wanted to say more but I didn't let her. I stood up and started walking off. It was better if I wasn't here. She didn't need me, Omir didn't need me, and the town definitely didn't need me. I was also just tired of the rollercoaster of emotions I had been dealing with. I just wanted for it to end at this point.

"Sam, where are you going?" Emily asked.

"To think." I lied. "Don't follow me. And tell...tell Omir I'm sorry."

I entered the tree line before she could say anything. I really didn't want to be around anyone anymore. It just didn't work.

I spent hours walking the orchard. I eventually saw that night was falling. I leaped up into a tree to rest my legs.

I waited for sleep to take me away from my nightmare, but it never came.

I waited, and waited, but nothing happened.

I heard someone approach and tried to make myself smaller in the branches.

They seemed to pass and I let out a sigh of relief.

"So that's where you are." I heard someone say. I lost my balance in the tree and fell out, landing on my face. I righted myself and looked around. I didn't see anyone.

"Who's there?" I asked.

"Areta." The voice responded.

"Areta?" I repeated. I turned on truth seeking, wanting to get to the bottom of what had seperated us.

"Is what Rosaline said true?" I asked her. I still couldn't see her.

"About me being a seductress?...I don't know. I was never able to make friends with anyone other than dryads, so I was never able to figure out what kind I was." She answered. She was telling the truth.

"I saw Omir in Ponyville, I also saw your fight with him. Why did you do it?" She asked, sadness in her voice.

"Because my biggest flaw is being impulsive. So much so, that it has ruined both my life, and everyone else's. I didn't listen to Omir or Emily. They tried to tell me and I just wouldn't listen. I beat the crap out of someone who didn't want to fight, and I almost killed him." I explained.

"Is Rosaline what made you leave me?" She asked after being quiet for a few minutes.

I hesitated. "I won't apologize." I eventually said. I heard her stifle a gasp.

"I won't apologize, because I don't want to be forgiven...I don't _deserve _to be forgiven. And I know that if I apologize, you will forgive me without a second thought." I explained.

She suddenly came into view and kneeled next to me. Her hair seemed to sparkle in the moonlight. I could see the necklace I had given her, around her neck, mocking me. She smiled at me. Then slapped me.

"Yes, that is why I left you." I answered eventually.

I could see tears running down her face. "Sam, we are bonded for life. If we can't forgive each other, what hope do we have to remain friends." Friends?

"I don't deserve friends, Areta. Look what I did. I essentially cut a path of death and destruction across Equestria, left you high and dry without a good reason, and almost killed a man who had already attoned for what he did. I don't deserve friends, I don't deserve Emily, and I sure as hell don't deserve you! Now leave me alone and go back to Omir and Emily." She just wouldn't give up, no matter how much I hurt her. Nothing good would come to her being with me.

"Sam, I want to be with-"

"You don't understand! I-" I began.

"Maybe you don't understand!" She yelled back. "Emily and I care about you. We love you, Sam. We want you to be happy, and we want you to be with us. I love you Sam. You just can't seem to get that through your thick skull! Now why don't you stop wallowing in self-pity and come help clean up the town." She chewed me out.

I didn't want to believe her. I didn't want to hurt, or be hurt, anymore. But truthseeking was telling me something else. She wasn't lying.

"They don't want me there." I explained to her.

"Then make them want you there. Now come on." She stood up and grabbed my hand, pulling me up.

"You need to move forward. You have made mistakes, a lot of mistakes, but you can help to fix them. They need you just as much as they need Omir right now, whether they like it or not." She started pulling me through the orchard and back to Ponyville.

We walked for about twenty minutes and came out near the Apples farm. I noticed that this orchard made me go in circles a lot. It would explain why it took us considerably less time to get back than it did for me to get there.

Emily and Omir were standing with the ponies I had met over the course of my original stay.

When they saw us, Emily rushed forward. When she reached me, she slapped me as hard as she could, then hugged me.

"I don't care how much I chew you out, don't you ever leave me like that again. Anyways, it's nice to have you back big brother." I cautiously put my arms around her. I saw Omir smiling at me with his black eye and missing top canine. He limped over to us. Emily pulled away when he reached us.

"I'm glad that I am finally able to enjoy things again. Although, I'm not so happy I can feel pain once more. You fucked me up pretty bad, Sam." He rested his hand on Emily's shoulder. I glared at him and he took it off. I still didn't want him touching my sister.

"Sorry about that." I apologized.

"Next time you won't be so lucky." He replied with a smile.

I saw Emily looking from me to Areta, back and forth. She seemed to realize something.

"You bitch!" She yelled and slapped Areta, then me.

"Alright! No more slapping! That's really starting to hurt." I said. Rubbing my, now numbing, cheek.

"Ow, you slap really hard, what's wrong?" Areta asked.

She got into Areta's face. "You slept with my brother! That's what's wrong!" She yelled at her. She got between Areta and I, and glared at her. Her anger didn't seem as frightening when Areta was a few inches taller than her.

"Touch my brother again and you won't have the parts needed to satisfy him." She threatened.

"Emily!" I said, completely surprised by this side of her. "Yeah, no. You two aren't sleeping together. If you want to do that, you need to get my permission." She explained.

"Emily, you can't just-" I started. However, she gave me a glare that would make the devil run away. I immediately dropped it. I didn't even know where Areta and I stood at the moment. I would have to try and get some more alone time with her later to check.

Omir chuckled and turned around to face the ponies. Many of the townsponies had also made their way here during our conversation. "Why don't we start rebuilding?!" He called to them. They cheered and dispersed to get started on the repairs. Omir was healing quickly and he followed them, along with us. I assumed he had some regenerative power as well.

**Three weeks later**

It took a long time for everyone to repair the town. Omir and I had a different job almost every hour. We held up walls, ran messages, collected raw materials, administered first aid; anything you could think of while we helped rebuild the town. Celestia had arrived half way through to check up on us. She wasn't happy at how I had been acting recently and threatened to remove the bands if I ever went on, essentially, a decimation of Equestrian wildlife to get more powerful. Omir didn't get off scott free either. She really didn't like being under mind control and threatened him with life in the dungeon. She really didn't like bullshit. She did, however, in response to our more...heroic acts, decided to have a house commisioned for us that looked like a much larger version of the average house in ponyville. For _all_ of us. The four of us now all lived in the same house. It was in no way shape or form comfortable. Areta and I were never alone. Emily, or Omir, were always with us and Emily's room was right next to mine so I couldn't enter or leave without her knowing.

Even though it had been three weeks, I still hadn't been able to talk to Areta alone. Right now, I was determined to change that. I was currently in the house waiting for Areta to arrive back from her work in the orchard. She had been helping the Apples replant fallen trees so they wouldn't come up completely short on the harvest for next summer and had spent the night there. It was also starting to get cold out, the chill of autumn in the air.

I heard someone open the door and I jumped out of my seat. I walked into the front hallway and found Areta walking in.

"Come on. We need to talk." I told her. She tried to say something but I just grabbed her hand and made my way out the door. We passed Emily who was gardening.

"Where do you think you're going?" She asked as she got up.

"Out. Don't wait up." I told her.

"It's still late morning! Get back here, Sam!" She yelled. I turned around and picked up Areta bridlestyle. I turned on strength and leaped out into the town. I kept leaping, leaving Emily far behind, till I was at the outskirts of town. I set Areta down and walked over to a tree for shade.

"We are going to die when we get back, you know that right?" She asked as she joined me under the tree.

"I know...I just needed to talk to you." I told her, cutting to the point.

"About what?" She asked.

"About us. I want to know where we stand. Are we friends? A couple?" I looked at her and she seemed to be sad.

"I don't know. The hive was something in the moment. I think we might have moved a little too fast. What do you think?" She looked up at me.

"I...I don't know." I was hoping she would say we were a couple. "I'll be honest, I want to be with you; but, if you think we should just be friends, I could live with that too." I hated myself for sounding so depressed. I looked down at my tattered sandals and waited for her reply.

I felt her hand under my chin. She turned my head towards her and kissed me. "I don't know either. But I think we should take it slow, do it right. Maybe, in time, we could do what we did in the hive, but until then, let's just take it one step at a time. Alright?" She asked.

"Alright." I turned towards her and hugged her. Glad to finally have this in the open.

**End of Arc 1**

* * *

**A/N: Okay, yes. End of Arc 1. I have a much bigger plan for this story and it will get a second and third part (maybe fourth). So stay tuned for that. I know this chapter will probably make or break a lot of you about the story; but, I think I did good on it. I would really like to hear everyone's thoughts on it though. See if I can improve anywhere. To be honest, when I read over the chapters before I post them, the emotional scenes seem to come off as shallow; so if anyone can give me their thoughts on them, I would really appreciate (don't kiss my ass or bitch at me, I want to know what you actually think). I will be taking a break from this story and will be focusing on my new story involving Derpy and maybe update my story with Fluttershy every now and again. Once I finish one of those up, I will start writing the second arc. I am starting to get into the really bad habit of writing the stories, then not publishing the chapter. I had this one written for almost a week before I decided to post it, so, sorry for that. I hoped everyone enjoyed this. See ya on the flip side.**


	24. Chapter 24: We're Baaaaccccckkkkk

**Arc 2**

**Prophesy of the return:**

**Fire Ice and Storm**

**The three forces of the Earth**

**Of one shall decide the final Form.**

**Three heroes shall answer the Call**

**One shall Stand**

**The second shall fall, and the third will Brawl.**

**An ancient Evil that has once been Silenced**

**Shall rise Again**

**From the ashes of an Alliance.**

**Unknown; Sometime in August**

The swirling Crimson, Cyan, and Hot Pink vortex was starting to make me lose concentration. If it hadn't been for my subjects magic, I would have been destroyed days ago performing the summoning spell. However, no one betrays me and lives to see the day. I will bring back the only force strong enough to kill him and that stupid dryad of his.

Mark my words Sam, you will die. And I will collect in blood.

**Sam August 14th (Eight months later; Friday)**

"Rarity. Rarity you gotta hide me. I'm begging you." I asked her as I ran into her boutique and hid behind her counter, peeking my head over it.

"Why, whatever for?" She asked me, confused.

"I really did it this time." I told her without explaining anything.

"Darling, for me to help you, I have to know what is going on." She said.

"I fell asleep in Areta's room and Emily found us." I explained.

"Oh my." She managed to say before Emily burst into the boutique.

I accidentally yelped and ducked my head beneath the counter.

"Where is he?" She demanded of Rarity.

Please tell her I'm not here. Please tell her I'm not here. Please tell her I'm not here. PLEASE tell her I'm not here.

Neither of them said anything for a minute, then I felt a hand on the neck of my shirt. I felt myself lifted up and over the counter by something very strong. And very pissed.

"You have it all wrong Emily, we didn't do anything. You have to believe me!" I begged her.

In response, she just donkey punched me and pulled me out of the boutique. "Thanks, Rarity." She called back.

She dragged me through town with a knot forming on my head and the ponies all staring at me and whispering amongst themselves. Emily was mumbling angrily to herself, occasionally shouting something at me.

Soon we arrived at our shared house and she opened the door, dragging me into there as well.

She threw me on the couch, opposite Areta.

Omir was snickering uncontrollably to himself.

"Shut up!" She yelled at him. Okay, almost uncontrollably, because that shut him up damn quick.

"I can't believe you two! You go almost eight months without a single word to each other, and then you just up and bone! What are you? Rabbits! Couldn't keep it in your pants huhn, Sam? Or did the succubus take you under her wing in the dark of the night and pleasure you to your hearts content?" She screamed at us. Yeah, like we'd been able to stand being non-entities to each other for eight months. Shows what she actually knew. But there was no way I was going to say that to her.

Still, coming from my sister's mouth, those words made me want to upchuck. How she could stand to say them to me, about me, is beyond me.

"Emily, you have this all wrong. We were talking last night and he just passed out. I did not have the heart to move him. Or the strength really. So I just let him sleep. To be honest, it was a nice change of pace from our usual routine." Areta tried to explain.

Emily turned away and brought her arm up, bringing her thumb and forefinger together. "Don't. Say. Anything. I don't want you two near the other unless one of you is dying. Do you hear me?" She commanded.

I knew it was a rhetorical question, so I didn't bother answering. We all knew that, for being the least powerful person in the house, my sister had the final say in just about everything.

"Come on Emily, give the kids a break. After all we-" Omir was interrupted by large blast.

I stood straight up and rushed out the door with him right behind me.

We raced across the town to where the blast had originated from. We found it's source in the middle of town square.

Ponies were already gathering around the scorch marks that looked like a lightning bolt, surrounding something that was glowing in a purple light.

We commanded the ponies to keep their distance. We approached cautiously, me with my ice ready, and Omir with his concussion blasts ready.

Before we could decide whether or not to attack, the light disappeared.

What we saw surprised us. In the center of the scorch mark were two humans. Honest to goodness humans. One was an older girl who appeared to be about my age, maybe a little younger. The other was someone too kidlike to be a teenager, but to big to be a kid. He was probably around thirteen.

And around her wrists were bands. Another meta-morph, and this one was purple.

The two both had black hair that was the same shade, and when they looked up, both had jade eyes. Their features also looked fairly similar, so I could only guess they were siblings since they were too close in age to be mother and son.

The woman looked around and saw all the ponies. I could see her in the first stages of panicking. She pulled the boys head to her so he couldn't see them and started scanning the crowd. Her eyes eventually settled on us and a faint glimmer of hope could be seen in them.

Her brother didn't look all to happy to be smashed into the crook of his sister's neck like a child, but there wasn't anything he could do about it.

We rushed over and kneeled next to her, cutting her sight off from looking at the ponies.

She looked like she was going into shock. With a silent word from Omir, I grabbed her brother, and he grabbed her.

We rushed back to the house, the brother fighting me the whole way. I eventually had to temporarily knock him out by jabbing my finger into his balance center behind his ear. I hoped I hadn't hurt him since I had done it really hard.

We brought them in to the house where Areta and Emily were waiting for us. I put the brother on the couch and Omir placed the sister on one of our recliners.

The girl was definitely in shock, so we had to wait it out. I sat down on the love seat next to Emily while Areta and Omir each took their own personal recliners.

None of us said anything for awhile. My mind began to wander and I thought back to what Omir was about to say before the siblings had arrived.

"Hey Omir." I called to him.

"Yeah?"

"What were you about to say to Emily earlier?" I asked him.

He looked nervous all of a sudden. Emily started fidgeting as well.

What?

"Well Sam... you gotta know... it was all her." He stated calmly, pointing at Emily.

"Hey! You never said no and you came to ME the second time _mr. studly_." Emily accused him.

"Woah woah woah woah WOAH. What are you two talking about?" I asked, looking from one to the other.

"Well... I guess you had to find out eventually. We've been-" Omir began.

"Dating the past few months. And Sam..." She paused, letting me take that in.

"What?" I asked in barely contained rage. A little at Omir, but mostly for Emily acting all high and mighty about Areta and I.

"I might be pregnant."

My mind blanked out and, in the very far off distance, I heard something smack against hardwood.

"Oh god Omir, I knew he wouldn't take this well. What are we going to do?!" I heard Emily scream as I slipped into blackness.

* * *

**A/N: Hello to all! I know it has been one hell of a long wait for this (probably causing me to lose a few readers, woops), but I am back bitches (it's a joke). I know it's kind of a short chapter, but the rest that I have so far are much longer. Yes, A LOT of shit happened in only about a thousand words. Sorry, this chapter was supposed to be much longer, but I just really wanted to get it done. I just felt it was time to get back into this story. It's still my favorite concept overall, it's just been replaced as the story I'm most proud of by another of mine. Oh well. One out of three ain't bad. I, hopefully, will do all of this one in one run. I have the entire second arc's main points already mapped out, so don't expect delays because I have writers block. I ran into problems in both this story and A New Start because I couldn't keep track of the calender, so that's why you see the 'August 14th' up there. Why August 14th you ask? Because why the fuck not? It'd take way too long to figure out because one: I'm terrible with calenders; two: I am still a pretty shit writer, the plot dictating the time of year; and three: I am fucking terrible with calenders. The calender thing is the way to fix number two. Also, I'll be putting that little (shit) prophecy at the beginning of the first chapter as well. It will have more effect there overall. Arc two will probably have a pretty wonky update schedule since I don't want one. I liked my method from before where I just posted whenever a new chapter was done. A lot less pressure on me (and laziness on my end for some reason). Enough of my rambling. If you have comments about the chapter, post a review. If you have a question, PM me (cause I don't want multiples of the same question in my review section). See ya on the flip side. (And yes, that is a very obnoxious chapter title. Deal with it).**


	25. Chapter 25: Dealing with It

**Training ground**

"So. We're going to be an uncle huhn?" I heard someone say to me.

I opened my eyes to see a white expanse. I sat up and looked around to find Pulse behind me.

"What did you say?" I asked him, not wanting to believe what had happened.

"Emily said we're going to be an uncle." He spread out his hands like he was a director with a dream. "Uncle Sam. Actually, that sounds too American. Uncle Sammy is better." He rambled to himself. He put his hands on his hips and looked at me.

"We _are_ american. At least we were." I told him as I stood up.

"Doesn't matter. I like uncle Sammy better." He said, indignant.

I didn't feel like standing so I began to sit down. A chair appeared below me right before I would have lost my balance and fallen on my ass.

I put my head in my hand, thinking about the repurcussions of my sister being pregnant. And about the new band-wearer.

"Have you been able to get in contact with the new metamorph yet?" I asked Pulse.

"Yeah. It's name is Violet. The girl it is attached to is named Amy and her brother's name is Josh." He explained.

"So they are siblings."

"Yup, you called it." He said, far more cheerful than his usual self.

"What are you so happy about?" I asked him, finally looking up at him.

He had his arms crossed and was glaring at me. "I finally have someone to talk to other than you and Omir's emotional incarnation. His is boring and you ask to many friggin questions when we talk. Maybe I'll actually get some intelligent conversation." He had stretched out intelligent, implying that everyone he ever talked to was stupid.

I just put my head back in my hand. This was going to be a long day.

"Why is her brother here?" I asked him.

"Well... the bands have been quiet on this one. Both Cobalt and Toxic Green. The best we could come up with is that the bands track DNA. So, since siblings share anywhere from fifty to one hundred percent of their DNA, they could come along for the ride. Emily shares about seventy eight percent of her DNA with you, and Josh shares about seventy four with Amy. At least, that's what we came up with." He explained.

"Wait a minute." I told him, looking up. "You guys can measure human DNA?"

"Duh, how do you think you can use another creatures power and why you can only use one at a time? A certain amount of the DNA from the creature is taken, then when you need it, inserted into you. So, if you wanted to fly, you'd become a little bit pegasus. However, I can only keep the DNA of one creature from taking you over at one time. Cobalt can do more. So, we have to be able to code and sequence DNA to let you use it." He explained.

"Holy shit, what else can you guys do that you aren't telling me?" I asked him, dumbfounded.

"That... is for another time. You need to get back out there and face your unclehood. Ta ta." He said, almost peppy.

I slipped through the chair and collapsed back into my body. I sat up suddenly, breathing in. Suddenly, my forehead really hurt. I brought a hand up to it and felt a knot beginning to form. Then, something punched me really hard in the arm.

I looked over to see Emily glaring at me while holding her own head.

"Next time, I'll kill you." She said angrily.

"If you can catch me, preggers." I snapped. I was still pretty pissed.

"Hey, it's not my fault-"

"What? It's all his fault?!" I yelled, pointing at Omir, who held his hands up in a 'not me' gesture, but I wasn't blaming him. Mostly.

"It's just as much your fault as it is his. It takes two to make a baby, Emily! And then you turn around and chew Areta and me out because I fell asleep in her room! I can't believe you right now." I threw my hands up in exasperation. I stood up and she did as well

"If you don't like it then leave." She yelled back at me.

"Fine!"

"Fine."

I walked out the door, slamming it behind me.

**Omir**

Areta flew out the door after Sam. Emily went to stop her, but I put a hand on her shoulder.

"It will only make it worse. And she's the only one who can calm him down right now." I explained to her.

I pulled her to me, trying to calm her down.

"He'll be back later tonight." I comforted her.

"But he just infuriates me sometimes." She spat angrily. Then she thumped me on the chest with her fist.

"And that woman." She practically growled.

"Emily, I think it's time you let them be. We have our own..." I was about to say problems, but I knew that wouldn't be wise given her current state. "Uh, _things_ we have to work out. I think it's time for you to stop being his mother, and start being his sister."

"But he needs me to protect him from her." She said meakly. I pulled her head to me.

"Yes... he does. Yet not as an obstacle, but as a support. If he wants to be with her, then that's his decision. If it's a mistake, then you should be there to comfort him. And if it isn't, then you should congratulate him." I laid down the law. I was tired of her and Sam's fights about Areta, and his boundaries concerning her. He needed to live his life, and she needed to let him live it.

"If that doesn't work, I blame you."

"Uh, hello. Girl freaking out over here." The girl called. There was no panic in her voice.

"I think that's the fastest I've ever hated someone just from hearing them talk." Emily said.

Oh heaven above, this just got hectic.

**Areta**

'Why can't she just let us be?' I thought to myself while I chased Sam down. Ponies were quickly getting out of his way while he stomped through downtown.

'She has to keep getting in our way, making things difficult.' I was a little mad, but not as much as Sam.

I needed to catch up to him before he accidentally activated something, but I wanted privacy, so I let him get all the way out of town and to the surrounding countryside before I stopped him.

"Sam, look at me." I grabbed his face and pulled it to look at me, but his eyes wouldn't meet mine.

"Look at me." I commanded him. After a few seconds, our eyes met.

I sighed, trying to get up the nerve. "Think of it like this: You're going to be an uncle. You will have a new life to love and nurture and teach. It's everything amazing about being a parent, without all the downsides like actually having to change it." I told him, getting a small chuckle. I giggled a little at my crude joke.

"I guess you have a point." He escaped my hold on him and turned his back to me.

"But... how can she raise a baby here, even if she has the four of us? Everything's been quiet so far, but don't you remember what happens when a new bandwearer shows up? Bad shit."

He started pacing. "Your tree burned down and I almost killed, and almost got killed, multiple ponies; and Omir almost managed an entire mental takeover of Equestria's equine population and ponyville was destroyed."

He threw his hands up in exasperation. "Things just keep getting worse every time. What's next? The world is threatened? Band wearers are bad news, Areta." He turned to look at me.

"That baby won't be safe. Even with Omir and myself protecting it. There will always be something faster, something stronger, something smarter... something deadlier than us. It pains me to say it, but I can't imagine that child getting past the age of five. All Omir and I attract is danger. It would take just one flick. _One_. _Flick_. For a dragon to kill that child. Even Emily or you could take a hit without being killed. I don't know about you-" He looked me in the eye, the sadness evident in his. "But it would destroy me to be the reason that baby was dead. It would _destroy _me."

So that was why he was angry. Not so much her, but about what might happen.

I walked up to him and pulled him into a hug. Eventually, his arms wrapped around me.

"Everything will be fine, Sam. I promise."

**Emily**

'I hate her. I hate her _soooooo_ much. I'm going to kill her.' I thought to myself as Omir talked to her. I had to watch her stupid brother, who kept asking me stupid questions.

"No, I don't know how the ponies 'get it on'." I held up my fingers for air quotes in emphasis. What kid even asks something like that?

"How do they fly, how do they do magic?" He had a really high, squeeky voice. And I was always proud of _my _very feminine voice, but this kid has even me beat. However, that's a bad thing.

"I don't know." And how did he know they could do that?

To top it all off, he was kind of a runt. I was used to men like my brother, grandfather, and Omir. Sure, Sam wasn't a giant, but at least he had hit the average before his growth spurt.

And the woman! Ah, she infuriated me even more. Her voice was fairly low for a woman, but it was still very much feminine. She had a full body and long, luscious hair. With the color being almost completely opposite to my almost snowish hair. I hated her just for that. She was the picture of sexy while I, albeit begrudgingly, wasn't. Compared to her at least. I still looked pretty good though, but that didn't make me any less jealous.

What pissed me off the most was that she was flirting with Omir too! She just got here. She was demanding, pushy, and rude as well. I knew I was a lot like that, but at least I had some semblence of decency. She looked like she wanted to hogtie Omir and ride him like a horse. It sickened me.

Yet there was nothing I could do. Omir had explicitely told me not to talk to her so he could get his 'metamorph business' out of the way. I hated him too right now. He wasn't getting anything tonight.

Not to mention, I still had my brother to deal with. I haven't seen him that pissed off since Omir and he had fought for real and he had absolutely kicked Omir's butt.

How was I going to deal with him? I just hoped Areta could do something, because lord knew I couldn't. Sure, I could get him calm almost to the point of sleep just by talking softly to him, but when he was angry _at_ me? Well... that's an entirely different story. Just hearing my voice might make him angrier.

I laid my hand on my stomach and sighed. I wasn't entirely sure I was pregnant. It wasn't uncommon for me to be a day or two or even three late. But I also hadn't been doing it off and on for the past month and half when this had happened previously. There was no birth control in Equestria. Or, at least, birth control that either Omir or I could use.

I sighed again. Today was going to be a long day.

* * *

**A/N: Sorry for the long wait. Something came up that I couldn't fix right away. See ya on the flip side.**


	26. Chapter 26: Duel of the Dudes

**Sam**

Areta and I had decided to go back to the house after a little while. It would lunchtime soon and I was hungry.

We arrived at the house about midday.

The new kid, Josh if I remember correctly, was asleep on the couch and his sister was talking to Omir. Even I could see that she was flirting with him. I looked over at Emily and could see the rage boiling inside her.

'Oh god, she's going to kill her.' I thought to myself. Emily was always territorial, so it wouldn't surprise me if she _did_ try to hurt the new girl.

"Omir, come over here for a sec." I called to him.

To Areta I whispered "Try to keep Emily from doing something bad." She nodded.

Omir walked over and we headed into the kitchen.

"How far did you get?" I asked him.

I put my hand on the table to lean on and my other hand on my hip.

"I've explained to her how the bands work, but I'm pretty sure either Areta or you would be able to explain it better. I don't spend a lot of time brushing up with my incarnation. I also managed to get her to wrap her head around the history of them and how to get into the training ground." He explained. He seemed distracted.

"She was flirting with you. Blatantly." I pointed out.

He gave me a 'no shit' face. "You think I don't know? I could _feel_ Emily's anger. And I wasn't even looking at her."

"Yeah, she's pretty pissed. I'd suggest that you stay away from the new girl at all costs."

"That's a fantastic suggestion." He said, sarcastic.

I rolled my eyes, then thought of something. "You want to give her a show?" I asked him.

"What do you mean?"

"A play fight, with us using our abilities. We haven't practiced much lately, so it would be good for us as well." I explained.

He shrugged. "Why not? I'm going to head over to the wildflower fields. I really don't want to be anywhere near that woman right now, or Emily for that matter."

"Alright. I'll gather everyone up." I told him.

He disappeared with a gust of wind, signaling his departure.

I walked back out to the living room.

"Alright..." I couldn't believe I had forgotten her name, but not her brother's. I stared at her for a second before she picked up on it.

"Amy." She said as her eyes wandered around my body. I now regretted wearing my shirt I came here in. Rarity had fixed it up for me before I had grown into my new musculature, so it showed off my chest fairly well. Damn it. I immediatelly became self conscious.

"Amy, Omir and I are going to show you the different types of abilities we've gathered over the year that we've been here. Emily, I need you to go tell Twilight about this. We'll all be at the wildflower patch." I explained to them.

Emily nodded, probably happy to get away from Amy.

When Emily stood up, Josh woke up suddenly, choking and sitting up at the same time. Amy leaped up and started patting him on the back. He held a hand up eventually and managed to calm down. I raised an eyebrow but knew it wasn't my place to ask. And it didn't look like either of them wanted to explain.

"Are you alright?" Areta asked him. He nodded and got off the couch.

"Then let's go." I turned around and opened the door, holding it open for everyone. Areta said thank you, but the siblings stayed silent.

We walked as a group down the street. Areta and I side by side, and the siblings behind us.

Eventually, Amy worked her way up beside me.

She tried to loop her arm through mine, but I stopped her. Or at least tried to. She eventually managed to get it through and I didn't have any excuse to get her to stop.

"So..."

"Sam."

"Sam, what kind of powers do you have?"

"You'll see most of them during the sparring match between Omir and I." I wanted to interact with this woman as little as possible. Something about her rubbed me the wrong way.

Suddenly, she jumped and unhooked her arm from mine. I glanced down to see a small bruise forming on her bicep.

Areta hooked her index finger on mine and I squeezed.

We walked the rest of the way in silence.

About ten minutes later, we arrived.

I made everyone wait till Emily arrived as well.

Omir and I walked out into the field, with Emily close on our heels.

When we were about twenty paces apart, she reached us and, putting Omir's arm between her chest, reached up and kissed him on the lips.

"I didn't want to see that." I mumbled on instinct. I shuddered a little bit from the implications of what she did. As if being pregnant wasn't enough to remind me of what she does with him.

I shrugged it off and looked over at Areta with a 'don't I get one' look. She just smiled and put her arms behind her back.

I stuck my tongue out at her and smiled. 'Fine, be that way.'

I turned towards Omir and took up a fighting stance.

Along the way, I had Pulse turn back on Extra Sensory Input. That thing was annoying so I usually had it off, and having it on again felt weird.

Omir and I looked at each other. I felt the hair on the back of my neck stand up, telling me Omir was charging up a soundwave.

I heard Emily shout 'Go' in the background and sped to the left in a burst of speed. Omir's shockwave passed by me.

I zoomed towards him and leaped, turning on ice. I grew a saber on my right hand and stabbed at Omir, embedding my saber into the ground. Omir had rolled out of the way and had come out hands up, sending a powerful shockwave my way. I felt it coming, but couldn't get out of the way in time.

It blasted me backward into a tree, dazing me.

I landed on my feet awkwardly and in a moment of panic, turned on air and sent a blast at Omir. Yet, he was no where to be found.

I split into two clones. One contained flight and firebreath, the other contained speed and dexterity. I still hadn't been able to get passed two.

Avian: I flew up high to see if I could find him while Speed zoomed around on the ground. Suddenly, something hit me in the back. I twisted in midair and blew a jet of flame, all the while falling. My flame died and I saw Omir with his arms up in a defensive position. How wasn't he at least singed? The fuck?  
He pushed his legs into me right as I hit the ground and I dissolved, heading back to Speed.

"_Fanfuckingtastic idea. What's next, blast him with another menacing gust of wind? Get your head in the game!" _Pulse yelled.

I sped around the forest, stopping to turn on aura eyes. I looked around and saw Omir flying at me at full speed, hands outstretched in fists.

I rolled out of the way, taking moisture out of the air with water, then turning to ice and freezing it. I molded it into a Javalin and threw with strength, all within a fraction of a second. Omir may have always had more energy, but I was the prodigy in changing my current ability. Although changing it that fast really tired me out and I could only do it for about ten seconds before I passed out cold.

The Javalin flew through the air at almost supersonic speed and impaled him as he was turning around. It went straight through his shoulder, making a nasty looking hole. He cried out in pain, but it wasn't fatal. Any damages we sustained during a fight, we could heal when we were done since Emily and Areta were here to take care of us if we passed out. But we could also lose a lot of blood. That was a different story.

Omir suddenly used one of his newer powers and threw a boulder at me. We had started doing powers quests and he had stumbled upon some rock nymphs. The only species that we knew of so far that had both males and females. So he had aquired a very basic power over stone and dirt. But it wasn't very powerful and never would be. It always seemed to be very hit or miss with the elemental powers. Either they were useful or they weren't.

I tried leaping out of the way with agility, but it caught me and I went flying back. I flew far past the girls and Josh into a tree behind them. However, I had managed to twist in midair and land with my feet on the trunk. I quickly changed to strength and kicked off, feeling an incredible pain in my right leg but flying towards Omir very fast nevertheless.

He was still pretty messed up from my Javalin and I nailed into his stomach and we crashed to the ground, ending up in a roll.

I flipped off of Omir the first chance I got and landed on my feet, my right leg feeling like it was being chopped off, but I couldn't worry about that now.

Omir got to his feet and we ran at each other.

I led with a straight punch, but he blocked and nailed me in the stomach with his bad shoulders fist, not being able to give much power to the punch.

I twisted my arm around and grapped Omir's. I ducked under him as fast as I could and hooked my foot around his and pulled, pinning his arm behind his back and felling him in the same move.

I changed to Ice and formed a saber again and held it to his neck.

"Do you give up?" I hoped he did, because I could barely stand. My right leg was trying its damndest to give out.

He sighed, knowing that he had been beaten. Usually though, he won the hand to hand fights. I was surprised I had won this way.

"I give." I let him go and my saber melted.

My right leg gave out and I fell to my knee.

"Oh my god, are they alright?" I heard Amy ask.

"They're fine. You haven't seen all that they can do. Not yet anyways." Areta answered. She had seen me pretty messed up before, so this was nothing.

I looked down and saw a giant gash in my right leg, down to the bone. My right hand was broken and my right ankle also looked sprained. I could also feel bruises appearing everywhere and there was a knot on my head from when I smacked it against the tree.

Omir had gotten off much better. He only had a gaping hole in his shoulder. Everything else looked fine.

The girls and Josh walked over.

"That was awesome! Can you do it again?" Josh asked us in a surprisingly high pitched voice. This was the first time I had heard him talk.

Emily helped Omir up, and Areta sat down next to me. I let my head rest in her lap, not caring what Emily would say. I was tired as hell.

Omir shrugged then sat down. He summoned a makeshift wall from dirt after a few minutes of work and sat down against it. Emily sat next to him.

The siblings just stared at us.

"What?" Emily asked them.

"It's just that... you guys have giant wounds on your bodies and you act like it's an everyday thing." Amy answered.

"We've had much worse." Omir said as he chuckled.

"Yeah, we've both been pretty close to death. With the other causing it actually. We've beaten each other up much worse than this. At some point, you just learn to ignore the steady pain and only listen to the spikes. However, we can't heal from anything. We probably can't do whole organs or appendages. Maybe not even half an organ. It has to be muscle and or bone or nothing." I explained to her.

She just collapsed into a sitting position. Her brother looked bored now and walked off to the tree line.

We sat for awhile while Omir and I healed. About half an hour later, after I had closed my eyes and almost fallen asleep from the soothing feeling of Areta pushing her fingers through my hair, it got dark.

I opened my eyes to see Amy staring down at me and Areta gripping my hair a little too tightly.

"Yes?" I asked her.

Her hair made a curtain between me, and Omir and Emily.

"You did really well in the match." She said.

Half an hour to think and that's what she came up with. Dear lord. She obviously wants to talk to me and I have a pretty good reason why.

"Then congratulate Omir as well. I won by a hair." I told her.

I really wanted her to go away. I was about to fall asleep and Areta was starting to twist my hair to the point where it was starting to hurt. Pain from a wound was one thing. Hair pulling was another. Some things just always hurt, no matter how used to pain you were.

"How did you learn to do all of those?" She asked.

"I learned by training in the training grounds. Omir said he had already explained this to you." Neither Emily nor Omir were making any noise, so I could only assume they had fallen asleep. Jerks. And Areta didn't appear to want to help me.

"Well... maybe you could teach me when I get some?" She put her hand on my arm. No.

I sat up, finally getting away from Areta's deathclaw grip on my hair, and the scent of Amy's shampoo. I also managed to get her off my arm. I looked over at Omir and Emily and confirmed my suspicion. They had fallen asleep against each other.

"I think you'll find someone who can help you much more than I can when you get to the training grounds." I told her.

"Who?" She asked, getting up close to me. I could feel her breath on my face.

"I don't know. That's up to who you are as a person." I explained.

She didn't know what to say to that.

I looked around for her brother. I really didn't want this moment with Areta to be ruined permanently, oh I hated to ruin it, but I needed to get away from her. I didn't want both Emily and Areta pissed at her just because she didn't know when to stop.

I spotted him passed out against a tree.

"We should go home, so it would be a good idea for you to go get Josh." I told her.

She seemed a little taken aback, but sighed and stood up.

When she was out of earshot Areta spoke. "Does she not recognize that you are mine and that Omir is Emily's?" She sounded fairly pissed and Areta doesn't get pissed.

"I think she knows, but doesn't care." I explained. I stood up and tested my leg. It hurt a little bit and wouldn't be working completely right until sometime tomorrow, but it was fine for walking the mile back to the house. I walked over and woke up Emily and Omir.

They sat up groggily. Josh and Amy joined us and we made the trek back to the house. I hated that the closest, decent site for our fights was this meadow. We would already be tired from the fight and the afterbattle healing, but then we have to trudge a mile to get home. It was annoying to say the least.

About twenty minutes later, mostly because Omir and I were tired, we arrived back at the house. The trip was made even longer by Areta having to thwart Amy's advances. Emily even stopped one or two of them. She was getting on my nerves.

Omir went upstairs to take a nap while everyone else sat downstairs.

I sat down in my recliner so I could be comfortable and let it go into full bed mode. I was also too lazy to get up the stairs. Regeneration had taken a lot out of me and it was still going.

I saw Areta eyeing Amy. Suddenly, she walked over and climbed on it with me. I moved over so she had room. It was surprisingly comfortable laying like this even though we were kinda squished. Areta's breasts pushed us a little bit apart so we couldn't have our heads together, but I wasn't going to complain. She pulled her hair out from under her and laid it along her body, some of it spilling on to me. Damn I was comfortable.

I was surprised Emily didn't say anything, but she didn't even seem that bothered. Maybe she preferred Areta being like this with me rather than Amy. Either way, I didn't care. I preferred it this way too.

Emily sat in her recliner and the siblings took the couch.

We sat in a sort of awkward silence for awhile. Then Emily excused herself. Presumably to go be with Omir.

Josh whispered something to Amy and she nodded.

"I was wondering if I could make lunch for my brother and myself." She asked.

I was half asleep so I didn't really have the brain capacity to respond.

Areta said something and she got up with her brother. They went into the kitchen.

I felt Areta's hands on my face and then her lips on mine. It was just a quick kiss, but a fantastic one.

"I've been waiting to do that for awhile." Areta said, smiling.

I smiled a sleepy smile. I reached up my neck and kissed her. A longer one this time.

When I broke off she giggled and kissed me back.

We kept up this little contest until we were interrupted by Amy coming back into the living room.

"Where's the mayonaisse?" She asked.

I knew Areta didn't know what that was, so I answered.

"None of us like mayonaise, so we don't buy it. Sorry." I told her. I looked at her when I had started talking. She looked kind of pissed. Whether from us not having mayonaisse or from Areta and I's little makeout session, I had no idea. She had no right to be pissed about the latter, though.

She turned back into the kitchen.

"I hope princess Celestia gets here soon." I told Areta. She nodded in agreement.

My eyes started drooping and I fell asleep.

I awoke sometime later, alone.

I looked out the window and saw that it was nighttime.

I sat up and stretched.

I got out of my recliner after putting it back into the chair position.

Next, I managed to haul my ass up the stairs. I passed Areta's door first and was about to go in before I thought better of it. "I've pushed my luck enough for one day."

I found Emily's door open. Inside, Amy was sleeping in the bed while Josh slept on the couch in the room. Alright then.

Next was Omir's door and that was closed. I assumed Emily was in there as well.

I finally came to my door and went inside. I didn't bother closing it and stripped to my boxers. I dove under the covers and immediately fell back asleep.

* * *

**A/N: I'm just about done with Arc 2 and will be finishing it probably tomorrow, so expect frequent updates the next two weeks. I have no idea what my next story will be or what it will involve. I am currently working on one, but that is slow going and will take about a month to finish so I'm waiting on putting that out there. No, I won't start writing out my stories completely then putting them out there. I like getting reviews and sometimes, they even influence the story since I've written many of them as they've come to me. The reason why I'm done so early is explained in the second to last chapter. Also, guess what I rediscovered. Areta's age. I had forgotten she was almost two thousand years old. The stuff you forget about your own story. It's enough to knock any man down. Ah well, see ya on the flip side.**


	27. Chapter 27: Discoveries

**A/N: Okay, yeah. This chapter gets rated M. To skip all smut, skip down to the line: Twilight's House. All you need to know is that Sam woke up fondling Amy (who he thought was Areta; and was only wearing a bra and panties) then flipped his shit. Shoving her onto Areta so he didn't do something that he might have regretted. I also changed up the prophecy. It's not much, but it is important. It's what was going to happen all along, but I never bothered to put that specific part in and now it makes more sense. At least, once you know the whole story. And remember, skip down to the line 'Twilight's house' to skip all the smut.**

* * *

**Sam, August 14th (Saturday)**

I woke up to someone in my bed. It was a woman, I could feel that much. Although the first thought that came to my mind is: is this my sister? And thank god it wasn't. They were too big to be Emily's. I could tell just by feel alone, I didn't have to look.

I squeezed a bit and received a kiss on my jaw.

"Morning, Areta." I mumbled.

"I'm not Areta." An unfamiliar voice said. The fuck?

My eyes shot open to reveal the top of a dark head of hair.

I quickly scrambled out of the bed and grabbed my shorts before she could see me in my boxers.

She sat up and stretched, wearing nothing but a bra as far as I could tell. 'I'm going to smack this bitch.' I thought to myself. I was completely and utterly done with her shit. I may have been comfortable doing things with Areta, but that was Areta. This is some girl I hadn't even seen until yesterday.

I stood straight up and threw my shirt at her since her clothes were nowhere to be found.

"Put that on. Now." I commanded her, giving her a glare as deep as I could make it.

She decided on the right option of not pushing me anymore. Once she put it on and climbed out of the bed, thankfully with panties on, I grabbed the back of my shirt and pushed her out of my room.

"Hey, stop that. It hurts." She demanded.

"Oh. You don't like that? Well I don't like waking up next to people I don't know that are half naked! Deal with it." I told her.

I knocked on Areta's door. A few minutes later, she opened it up. She had gotten over not wearing anything when she slept in a bed. Mainly because she had ended up one time walking around the house naked for a few hours before Emily came in and saw her. Now she slept with a type of loincloth and a band around her breasts. It wasn't much better than naked, but it was still something. It sure as hell didn't help my current problem though.

"Take her. Before she becomes homeless." I pushed her into Areta's room, much to her dismay.

"What did she-"

"Right now. You're the least likely to do something to her at the moment. Please, just take her so she can't get into any more trouble." I pleaded with her.

She nodded. "What did she do?"

"Why don't you ask the go go dancer herself." I remarked, still pretty pissed.

"I'm going to take a shower then go to Twilight's. She should be up by now." I told her.

"Alright." She closed the door and I returned to my room. I locked my door then turned on aura eyes and checked my room. No one else was in here.

I went to my dresser and grabbed some new clothes. I unlocked my door and went into the hallway closet, grabbing some shower stuff. I brought it all to the bathroom. I hopped in the shower.

Midway, I heard the door open. I forgot to lock it like a dumbass.

"I swear to God. If that's you Amy, I'm going to throw you so hard out of this town, you won't land for literal days." I said to whomever was in the bathroom with me, automatically assuming it was Amy.

"It's not Amy." Areta said.

"Thank the heavens above." I said gratefully.

Suddenly, the shower curtain opened and she stepped in. I quickly averted my eyes. My problem hadn't gone away yet and seeing her naked would make the urge near irresistable.

I felt her hands on my cheeks. They pulled my head back towards her, turning my whole body at the same time. She kissed me deeply and I leaned into it, wrapping my arms around her. What little resistance I did have, crumbled like paper mache in a hurricane with that kiss.

I was accutely aware of my member grazing against her stomach. I reached behind me blindly and turned the shower head towards the wall, taking the water off of us. I brought my hands back around her waist.

Soon, I felt her hands move away from my face and towards mine. They grabbed them and pushed them down and settled on her butt. She started moving my fingers, messaging them. I soon got the message and started doing it myself, letting my hands wander and caress down her backside, squeezing.

Her hands moved back towards the front and grabbed me. I stiffened a little and she immediately stopped and pulled her head away. I could see a frown on her face.

I lolled my head forward so it rested against hers. "I'm fine. Just a little surprising is all. We have only done this type of thing once after all." I comforted her.

I started messaging her again and she pushed up for another kiss. Her hands started stroking me, the water having given her enough lubrication to do it comfortably.

I soon felt her pushing against my hands, needing me to do it harder. I obliged, kneading them like dough. I was pleasantly surprised by how soft yet firm they were.

She shivered with pleasure as a result. So she really liked my hands on her butt? I would have to store that away for later.

She started stroking me faster, filling me with pleasure.

I felt myself at my end. I hummed urgently into the kiss and she nodded. She started stroking me faster and I exploded all over her stomach and the bottom of her breasts.

I squeezed as hard as I could while messaging still. She removed one hand from my still rock hard member and put it down in her sensative area. She broke the kiss and leaned into me, rubbing her nipples on my chest, trying to get as much pleasure as she could. I leaned my neck down and started nibbling on her ear. This sent her over the edge. She was about to scream but I gave her a deep kiss to silence her. I didn't want the whole house to know what we were doing.

She still screamed into my mouth, but hopefully that, along with the running water, muted her.

She kept up her orgasm for several seconds, grinding everywhere she could on my body.

When she was finally done, she almost collapsed.

I laughed a bit. "Tired?"

"I'm sorry, but I was so pent up. And dryad's are naturally more sensative to pleasure than other nymphs. So I wanted to ride it out." She explained. She was absent-mindedly still rubbing me off. It felt great, and not over sensative or under sensative like it would usually be.

"Don't apologize. You should already know that this is for both of us to get a release. Not just me." I comforted her.

"Do you want to go all the way again?" She asked. I could hear the need in her voice. I wanted it to.

"How do you want to do it? I want to be able to look you in the eye... as creepy as that sounds." I realized just how terrible that sounded halfway through saying it.

"It's not creepy. I think it's romantic." She giggled. I could go with that.

"Well, you should be able to lift me. So... lift me by my legs and I hold onto your neck?" She suggested.

I nodded. She wrapped her arms around my neck and I lifted her up. The only problem was, neither of us could reach my member, so there was no way to put it in without making a loud slapping noise and pain on either my end or hers.

I had an idea. I walked towards the wall and pushed her back up against it, my hands supporting her through her backside.

She shivered and tensed up and my tip hit the wall. "Sorry, but it's the only way I could figure out how to do it. Put me in."

I lifted myself away from her just enough so that I could fit. It took some doing but I did it. When I backed up, she fell on it a little, impaling herself completely, her super orgasm from before providing all the lube we needed. She bit my shoulder a bit to keep from crying out and she was shuddering.

"Are you alright?" I asked, worried.

"I feel amazing. I forgot how perfectly you fill me up, Sam."

I sighed, relieved.

We both had to take a minute before we could do anything. If either of us started moving, I knew I would let myself out in her. I assumed it was the same for her.

"Are you ready?" I asked her about a minute later.

She shook her head, but I went anyway. I wanted to make her feel good.

I started thrusting up and she immediately clenched me in her orgasm. When she was done I started pumping.

"Oh heavens Sam, stop. I'm too sensative right now. Please?" She begged. She only stopped because another orgasm rocked her body, a much smaller one this time. I looked her in the eyes while I continued to thrust into her.

"I like making you feel good." With that I kissed her deeply.

This sent her into a strong orgasm, taking me along with her. I finished mine before she finished hers.

I could already feel myself softening inside of her and my juices were flowing out of her messily. Good thing we were in the shower, because we were a mess.

I pulled completely out of her and she shuddered.

She looked up at me angrily.

"When I say I'm too sensative, please stop. Or don't start." She chewed me out.

I just kissed her in response. It felt damn good to be me right now.

**Twilight's house**

Ok, it took us a hot minute to get cleaned up. So I arrived much later at Twilight's house than I had planned. It was around nine when I left and it only takes me five minutes to get here. I knocked on the door and a voice inside yelled come in.

"It's Sam." I called out. I waited a second for her to appear. The library was a mess, so she must be doing one of her monthly 'reshuffles' of the books. Spike was nowhere to be seen.

Eventually, she walked out behind one of the stacks of books.

"Hi ,Sam." She said, cheery.

"Hello, Twilight." I waved.

"I can only guess that you wanted to know if I told Princess Celestia about the new Meta-morph?" She was dead on.

I could only nod.

"I did. She should be here sometime after lunch." She said.

"Good. I don't think I can stand much more of that girl." I blurted out. My eyes widened and Twilight looked at me with a confused expression on her face.

"It's a long story." I told her, trying to get out of it.

She just kept up the questioning stare.

"Fine." I told her about what had happened up until this morning, stopping before I got to my shower.

"It seems like she is a nice _human."_ She didn't use the word all that often so she had trouble pronouncing it in everyday conversation. Something about the missing, silent e. I couldn't remember, she only explained it to me once a long time ago.

"She just doesn't seem to understand boundaries. I think you will have to explain them to her." She tried to help. That part made sense. But there was something else that was bugging me.

"How come she is so focused on me though? Areta and I have shown just as much affection to each other as Emily and Omir did to each other. And she was totally hooked on Omir when she first got here." That's what was most confusing to me in this situation.

"You said you won the practice match right?" She asked.

I nodded.

"That might be why. Unlike me, she hasn't seen both Omir and You win a sparring match. Just you. So she thinks you're the alpha between the two of you and Omir is the beta. You're the better, stronger choice to protect her offspring. At least, that's what I think is happening." She explained.

"Way to put it in evolutionary terms." I said sarcastically. Although, it did make a lot of sense. From what Amy had seen, I would be the better choice. However, Omir has beaten me many times, once, you know, he caught up to me in sheer power.

I must have been nodding my head along to my thought process because Twilight was smiling.

"Shut up." I told her. She just laughed. I couldn't help but chuckle a little bit. It was one of our ongoing inside jokes. I always had questions and she always had answers. When she gave me an answer, I wouldn't ask another question until I understood why the answer was the answer. It was fairly fun, but I had soon started bobbing my head to my thought process and she had noticed.

I looked over at the clock and saw it was around ten thirty.

"Is it okay if I stay here until Celestia arrives? I really don't want to go home." I asked her.

"It's fine with me, but you have to help with the books." She said with a devilish grin.

I stretched out my arms with my fingers intertwined, cracking them. "Bring it on, Sparkle."

It took us about three hours, but we did it. All the books were in their new places on the shelves.

We were currently sitting on her couch, eating lunch. I was about done when her head perked up suddenly.

"We should get going. I forgot princess Celestia would be here after lunch. She might already be at your house." Twilight said.

I swallowed before I responded. "That's fine. We can finish on the way."

We got up and, cleaning ourselves off a little bit, headed outside with our lunches. We finished along the way and arrived back at my house.

I opened the door for Twilight and went in after her.

Some of the other girls, the ones we were closer to, were here as well. I counted Fluttershy, who was close to Areta, Rarity, who was good friends with my sister, and Applejack was a close friend of Omir's.

They were all sitting around Celestia and Luna. Everyone looked at us when we came in, but didn't say anything.

I sat down next to Areta and Twilight sat next to Applejack.

"Good, now that we are all here, let us begin." Luna said. I was surprised. Celestia usually started things off.

"What does she know and what does she have?" Celestia asked us. Alright, she sounded more impatiant than ever. I always had a feeling she didn't like us and her tone wasn't helping with that right now.

Omir explained everything, what she knew and that she had no abilities yet.

"I see. Applejack and Fluttershy, would you be so kind as to let Amy here aquire strength and flight?" Luna asked them.

They both nodded and trotted over to Amy. She, for once, looked a little uncertain.

"Don't worry. Just place your hand somewhere on them and you will absorb their powers." Omir explained to her.

She reached out her hands and held them, palm up like she was waiting for something. Applejack and Fluttershy seemed to get it before I did, as they put their hooves onto her palms. Amy's bands growed a very bright purple, making me shield my eyes.

When I looked back, she was surrounded by two tendrils of purple smoke. The one on her left hand wrapped around her arm, then on the opposite side of her neck. It then continued downward, wrapping losely around her body down to her feet. The right band wraped around the other side of her neck and continued up her neck.

"That's new." Omir and I said at the same time. Rarity was confused as well. She had seen me gain my second power.

Celestia looked at me with a questioning glance. I just shrugged. I had no idea what was going on.

However, just as it started out of nowhere, it disappeared leaving no trace.

"Uh, what just happened?" Applejack asked.

"Omir?" I asked him.

He shrugged as well. Then all eyes turned towards Areta. "I don't know _what _that was." She said.

"We can find out later. Right now, we should focus on Amy." Celestia said, trying to calm both humans and ponies.

"How do you feel?" I asked her. Omir always said he had felt a rush when he had aquiered his first power. I hadn't had the same pleasure since I was panicking over whether or not I had killed Applejack by falling on her out of a tree.

"I feel..." She looked at the palms in her hands.

"Alive. Like everything I've ever known was covered with some glossy film, and now I've broken through that." She said, star struck.

"Try activating flight." I urged her.

"Think about what it is, and how you got it. Think of yourself as someone who has always been able to fly." I told her.

She closed her eyes and concentrated. A few seconds later, her eyes flew open, glowing the same color as the tendrils before. Wings sprouted from her back, looking, I hadn't thought I would ever use this word like this, beautiful.

They were long and shaped like a birds, with purple feathers and a giant wingspan. It was easily longer than both mine and Omir's.

She only held it for a second before she collapsed.

"Oh my heavens." Celestia said before catching Amy in her magic. She laid her out on the couch.

"The first usage is always the most draining. She will need training. By the looks of it, Violet's more powerful than both Toxic Green and Cobalt. When she gets proficient at combat, she'll be the deadliest out of all of us." Omir said with a dark look on his face.

"It appears so." I agreed with him. Amy was the bad kind of impulsive. She acted on her desires immediately without thinking through, doing what ever she could do to get it satisfied. While I, on the other hand, had very specific reasons and ways of doing what I wanted, even though I rarely thought it through. I wouldn't hurt anyone I cared about. She might.

If she caught up to Omir and I, I wasn't sure we could stop her. However, it was going to be up to us to help her get more powerful.

"For now, we shall play it by ear. If she becomes a threat, Luna and I will deal with her." Celestia said.

"That sounds fine by me." Omir said. I nodded in agreement.

"Then my sister and I bid you farewell." Luna told everyone. We all said our goodbyes and the royal sisters teleported back to canterlot.

Everyone kind of dispersed. Fluttershy had some animal that she was taking care of and Twilight had some other things she had to do at the library. Applejack had to get back to work and left with Omir. Emily and Rarity left as well to go talk.

I helped Josh get Amy upstairs and to the bed in Emily's room. Josh just laid down on the couch and fell asleep.

I closed the door and went downstairs to join Areta.

She was sitting in her recliner reading a book. I sat down.

I saw the cover of the book and was surprised she was reading it.

"Is that 'The monster of hoofington'?" I asked her. It was a horror story that was actually pretty good in the horror department even though the name was fairly uninteresting or clever.

"Yes, it is. I find it pleasent. I really like the part where Sally finds her brother's bloody ring on a string tied to the ceiling. Her reaction is very funny." She said.

I laughed. "I really liked that part too."

We spent most of the rest of the day before dinner discussing the book and having a nice time together.

Right as we were heading to bed, I asked her if she wanted to sleep in my room with me. I had to get the picture of Amy in her lace bra stretching, out of my head. And filling it with scenes of Areta was the best way to do that.

She agreed, which made me happy. We changed into our night clothes and snuggled up together in the bed, spooning. It felt great to be like this with her.

I sighed. "I love you, Areta." I whispered as I was falling asleep. I felt her stiffen then turn around.

"You love me?" She asked. She sounded scared.

"Of course. The last time I told you though, was during out night together at Chrysalis' hive. And I realized that as I was falling asleep. I guess I should say it more, shouldn't I?" I asked her sheepishly.

She surprised me with a heavy kiss, rolling on top of me. Well damn it, I was awake now.

She seemed desperate to kiss me as hard as she could. I tried saying something, but only managed to moan into the kiss.

I pushed up on her shoulders and broke the kiss. I gave her a questioning look. In response she pushed her hair out of my face and behind her ear. "I love you too, Sam." She leaned down to kiss me again. She was a little more controlled this time.

We spent the night together, _eventually _falling asleep.


	28. Chapter 28: Storm

**Sam, August 15th (Sunday)**

"Oh god, Sam. Wake up." Someone said, shaking me.

I opened my eyes sleepily to see Areta, naked, looking down at me.

"What?" I asked her.

"The bed is a complete mess. If Emily finds out, she'll kill us." She said, the worry very clear in her voice.

Apparently, Areta didn't like getting in trouble with my sister. That was surprising since she always seemed indifferent when Emily chewed either her or both of us out.

I sat up, fully awake now and scrambled out of the bed with Areta right behind me. I checked the clock. It was around six in the morning. Emily wouldn't be up for another hour at least. We had time.

I quickly undid the bed and grabbed everything in my arms. I was about to rush out the door, having opened it with my foot, when Areta stopped me.

"Uh, Sam." She said.

I turned around to face her. "What?"

"You're naked."

I dropped everything and looked down. Sure enough, I was bare.

I quickly scrambled into my dresser and pulled on some underwear and sweats. It was unnaturally cold in my room. I threw some of my clothes at Areta since her sleep wear was nowhere to be found. It was probably in the bedding somewhere but we didn't have time to untangle it.

She quickly put them on, however her nipples pointed straight through the shirt since it was so cold. I wasn't happy about that. Omir always woke up pretty early and I didn't want him staring. Or Josh. Especially Josh.

After we were dressed, we rushed to the basement with the bedding gear.

Areta got the machine ready while I untangled my comforter, which was blue, out of the whites. I had never learned what colors ran and which didn't. And I sure as hell didn't want baby blue bed sheets.

While doing that, I noticed just how messy we had made the sheets. It would be pretty hard for Emily to not notice, and she was the one who made the beds everyday. If my bed was already made, she'd be suspicious about that too. I realized too late that we were screwed either way. Tomorrow was the day when Emily did all the laundry so my sheets would still be smelling a lot like me, not our detergent.

I let myself sigh loudly in irritation.

"What? Can you not get it?" She asked.

I explained the situation to her. She seemed a little bit more frightened.

"You are right. She is going to catch us. Either you or both of us will get in trouble. She'll be the angriest I've ever seen her." Areta started to look like she was panicking.

"I just remembered, what about the smell in the room?" I asked her. "Is it all in the bedding, or is it-"

"Saaaaaaammmmm!" Emily shouted from upstairs.

"Well, that answers that question." I sighed. "Better go face her."

She sighed as well. I put the sheets in the washing machine and Areta started it. We still didn't want her seeing the mess we made.

We trudged up the stairs and found Emily, in only panties and Omir's T-shirt, waiting for us and tapping her foot angrily on the floor.

I raised my hands up to block that view and turned my head away, eyes closed.

"I don't want to see that!" I complained to her.

"Don't be mad." Areta said.

"She's already past that. She's so mad, she's come full circle and isn't mad anymore." I tried to rationalize it.

Then I noticed something.

"And she can't say anything either. She was with Omir last night!" I told Areta.

"How many times?" Okay, she was super pissed.

"Why do you want to know?!" I asked her.

"How many times?" She asked again.

"Again, why do you want to know?" I asked her, incredelous.

"How. Many. Times?" She was just getting madder.

"I think seven. Eight if you count yesterday's morning shower." Areta blurted out.

Emily didn't say anything for awhile. I snuck a peak at her face. Her hair was much more messed up than it usually was and her mouth was open in shock.

"How... what... when did he..." She was stupified.

"Well, it was mostly me. You see, he said he loved me when we were falling asleep last night and so I just couldn't help myself-" Areta started explaining.

"You love her?" Emily asked me with shock in her voice.

I slowly put my arms down to look her in the face.

"Yes, I do." I told her honestly.

She took a deep breath then put her finger up to her mouth and her hand up to her elbow, looking nervous.

She looked out the window for a second before saying anything. "I don't know what to say to that... Do you love him back?" She asked Areta.

She nodded and moved toward me, looping her arm through mine.

"I..." She still couldn't say anything. A few minutes later, she sighed.

She walked towards me and kissed me on the cheek, then turned towards Areta.

"Take care of him for me." She said. She then turned around and walked up the stairs, looking very distraught the whole time.

"I think she just... gave us her blessing." I said. I turned toward Areta just as her lips collided with mine. I felt her jump up and wrap her legs and arms around me, giggling the whole time. I staggered back into the wall and she broke the kiss. My arms were around her so she brought her hands to my face and looked me in the eye, smiling. I smiled back.

**Emily**

I walked back to Omir's room, very panicky. I just let her take my brother. I just let my brother take her. Was I a bad sister for liking that I didn't have to worry about him anymore? For being glad that he loved her and didn't have to rely on me anymore? That he didn't need me anymore?

I walked into Omir's room and he was sitting up with his arms behind his head and his eyes closed.

I got into bed next to him.

"How did it go? I didn't hear a lot of screaming."

"I let her have him." I told him in a whisper. His breathing skipped a beat and he started choking on air.

"You **cough** what?" He asked me, holding onto his chest, trying to get control again.

"I gave them my blessing." I told him, looking down at my legs covered by the sheet.

Once he got control of himself a good minute later, he wrapped his arm around me and pulled me close.

"Don't you feel good now?" He asked me.

"I feel like a terrible sister." I told him.

"For giving them your blessing?" He asked me, dumbfounded.

"No, for being happy that I don't have to watch over him anymore, that he doesn't have to rely on me anymore for emotional comfort." I explained to him.

"That doesn't make you a terrible sister. It makes you someone that has had to support both her's and her brother's hearts for most of their adult lives, happy. You can finally be your own person without having to think of how it will affect him." He comforted me. It did make me feel better.

I turned to him and kissed him, smiling the whole time. I was finally free. A weight I had never known was there, was finally lifted. It felt good.

**Sam** **(Sometime after lunch)**

"You think we should?" I asked Omir. We were currently at the kitchen table discussing taking Amy on a power quest to get her geared up.

"I think it's a good idea. We already know something is going to happen because of her arrival and the sooner she gets into fighting shape, the better." He explained. I couldn't argue with him there.

"Alright." I relented.

"You go get her. I'm still pretty pissed about yesterday." I told him.

"You really need to get over that. It didn't hurt you in anyway, ya baby." He said as he was getting up.

He walked out of the kitchen and returned a few minutes later with Amy.

"We're going on a trip." I told her.

"What kind of trip?" She asked me.

"We'll explain everything on the way."

**Everyfree forest; Two hours later**

"Everybody keep an eye out for anything that we can use." Omir said. Like he needed to remind us.

We spent the next twenty minutes prowling around looking for anything.

I eventually came upon a frog. I was so stunned by it, it almost got away from me.

I leaped towards it and just managed to touch it. The name of my new power came to me: Jump. Well that was dumb, but appropriate.

"Hey, I got one." I said as the frog leaped away. We weren't obligated to keep any one animal so the others could get it as well. That would be cruel to the animal and helped us keep a leg up on one another.

"What is it?" Amy asked me.

"What do you think of when you think of a frog?" I asked her.

"They eat bugs with a super long tongue?" She answered.

'Damn it. Walked right into that one.' I thought to myself.

"What's another thing?"

"Jumping?" She guessed.

"Bingo." I confirmed her guess.

She didn't seem too impressed, and I didn't blame her. It wasn't that great, but it was useful.

Suddenly, we heard a boom like thunder.

"What was that?" Amy asked.

"I don't know." I answered.

We looked around for anything that could have made the noise. Then I heard it again. Only this time, it was above us.

I looked up and saw a large bird with electricity crackling around it's wings.

"Is that a Thunderbird?" I asked myself. I remember Twilight telling me about them. They were supposed to be extinct, hunted to it by airborn predators and hydras.

I turned towards Amy who had a determined expression on her face. Suddenly, her wings sprouted and she rocketed into the sky.

"She's already learned how to fly?" I asked myself, dumbfounded. It took me over a week in the training grounds to figure out how to do that. The fuck?

She raced towards the Thunderbird who didn't seem like it wanted to move out of the way. It just stayed flying its course. She caught up with it and tapped it on its back. A purple explosion of light went off and Amy started falling.

I instinctually turned on my new jump and was overwhelmed. Suddenly, thousands of calculations went off in my head, trying to predict the path I would have to take to intercept her. I was almost completely overwhelmed. Suddenly, something told me to jump. I did and I just caught her as she was about to hit the tree line. I landed hard in a small clearing, my legs none the worse for wear. Jump was kinda badass.

I set her down and activated fire breath. I blew a bolt into the sky which exploded fifty feet in the air. I waited for about two minutes, then sent another one up into the air, the same as the first.

Omir arrived in the next thirty seconds and I explained what happened.

"This is weird. Her bands seem to be more chaotic and unstable than ours ever could be. It's like she has the power of a god, but can't control it." He thought outloud.

"Well, whatever the case, we need to get her back. This trip was a complete bust." Omir said.

Ha, showed what he knew. Suddenly, we heard a pop. We looked over to see a red monkey staring at us on top of a rock. Then it disappeared and reappeared in the tree branches above.

"Dibs!" We both shouted, lunging for the monkey.

It teleported away far before we made it to him, but that didn't stop our momentum. We collided in midair and went sprawling into the tree, eventually falling our way down through the branches and landing on some rocks. I felt my forehead hit one fairly hard.

"OW, damn it." I said as I curled into a ball and grabbed my head. It must have hit a sweet spot because it really friggin hurt. It subsided after a second, but I could already feel the knot forming.

I sighed as I got up.

"Truce?" Omir held out a hand.

"Truce." I shook.

He grabbed Amy and we made our way back to the house.

**The house; two hours later**

We walked back into the house where Areta and Emily were talking. Josh was passed out on the couch. How much did that kid sleep?

"So, how was it?" Emily asked. She took one look at Amy and frowned.

"Alright then." She said, the look on her face telling me she answered her own question.

"So is your room now her room?" Omir asked her.

"I guess so. At least until we can make appropriate arrangements." She answered.

She led him upstairs to help him with her.

Areta stood up and came over to me. She put her hand on my head and I winced.

"Another rock?" She asked.

"Another rock." I answered.

"Those things are more dangerous to you than anything else you've ever fought." She said, giggling at her own joke. I laughed a bit too.

"So what's for dinner? It is your turn to cook tonight." I reminded her.

"It is? I thought it was yours." She said.

"Tomorrow is mine." I explained to her.

"Oh tree." She said and rushed into the kitchen.

I went upstairs to see how Omir and Emily were doing.

I found them talking outside Amy's door.

"We have to make new arrangements." Emily told me as I headed up the stairs.

"What are you talking about?"

"We now have six people in a house with four bedrooms. And I can't imagine Josh and Amy are all too comfortable sharing a room. So, what I was thinking was that Areta moves into your room because she doesn't use hers all that often, and I permanently move into Omir's. Josh moves into Areta's." She explained.

"We'll have to ask Areta before we decide anything." I told them.

"Of course." Omir said.

"But other than that, I think it could work." I agreed.

Permanently sharing a room with Areta? It would be a big step in our relationship. Not one that would affect us greatly. Our first two nights together had seen us sleeping together because she was so uncomfortable being alone without her tree, which I had been back then. And then our shared room at Chrysalis' hive where we had lost our virginities. And now last night, one full of each other. It wouldn't be hard, we could manage, but now I couldn't stop thinking about the amulet.

Where was it? Did she wear it whenever she went out of the house? Or did she keep it in a drawer of some kind? I had never bothered taking back the tree's power after I had defeated Omir. It had still been a pretty hectic time with battles going on every other day it seemed. So I thought it was safer for her to keep it and after... after it just faded from my memory. She never brought it up. I wanted to ask her about it, but when? Maybe tonight. I wanted to spend the night with her again, get used to sharing a bed.

I followed Omir and my sister down towards the living room. The three of us talked until Areta called us in for dinner. Someone woke Josh up and we ate in silence, feeling awkward around him. This was the first time he had been in Omir and I's presence, awake, without his sister.

After dinner, we all went our seperate ways and once again I asked Areta to spend the night in my room. As we walked towards my room, I told her about Emily's plan for the new living conditions. She agreed and we would be moving everything around tomorrow.

As we got into bed, I had to get up courage to ask her about the necklace. I didn't know why I was so scared. I thought it through and decided against it. I didn't want to make her sad tonight.

We went to bed after about an hour of talking, snuggling together.


	29. Chapter 29: The Necklace

**A/N: Wow, this is actually the shortest chapter in this story. Oh well. It isn't the first transition chapter I've written, and it sure as hell probably won't be the last.**

* * *

**August 16th (Monday)**

Everyone was currently moving everything around. Mostly Emily and Areta's things since the siblings didn't really have anything.

Omir and Emily were moving her things, and Areta and I were moving her's.

As we were finishing up, I found Areta looking at something with her back turned to me.

I walked up behind her and peered over her shoulder. In her hands was the amulet and down her cheeks were tears. I internally sighed.

I wanted to wrap my arms around her, but didn't think the gesture would be appreciated.

"Do you miss it?" She asked me.

"Miss what?" I asked. I knew what she was asking, but didn't want to admit that I felt the same way.

"Being my tree." She gave me the obvious answer.

I sighed for real this time. "Of course I do, but you know it's for the best."

"This thing is not a tree. It's cold and lifeless. It doesn't respond when I touch it. Doesn't want to keep me safe, doesn't want to nurture me and help me grow. It doesn't want my love and it doesn't want to give me love." She poured her heart out, her sobs getting more pronounced by the word.

She suddenly turned towards me.

"I want you... no, I _need _you to take it back, Sam. I can't stand it anymore. This...this _thing_ as my tree." She pleaded with me.

I didn't know how to respond. It would break her heart to say no. And saying yes would put her in danger. I didn't want either, but I would have to go with the lesser of two evils.

"I'm sorry, Areta. I can't put you in the danger that I am in everytime I fight something. I can't do that." I explained to her, knowing that she wanted me to be her tree too much to follow my logic.

Her face showed both sadness, hurt, and anger on it. She shoved the necklace into my chest and rushed out of the room. The last glimpse I had of her was of her long, apple red hair.

I sat down hard in a chair and put my head in my hands. I fucked up. Big time. Yet, it was the best option. I'd rather have her upset with me than dead with me.

I got up and walked out of the room. I needed to talk with Emily. I went searching through the house and found her alone sipping some tea.

"Can we talk?" I asked her. I felt weird going to her, but she was my best option. If anyone would want to help me, and be able to, it was her.

She raised an eyebrow then nodded, all the while taking a long sip.

I motioned for us to go up to her and Omir's now shared room. She rolled her eyes and sighed, but followed nonetheless.

We went back upstairs and she closed the door behind us. She sat on the bed and I sat in a chair.

"So, what did you want to talk about?" She asked.

"I fucked it up." I told her. She looked taken aback. I didn't usually swear around her.

"What did you mess up?" She asked tentatively.

"Areta and I. She was looking at the dryadic necklace and thinking about me being her tree. I explained to her that it's safer for me not to be her tree, but I still made her upset." I explained the situation to her.

"Well that one's easy." She said.

I whipped my head up. It was? "It is?"

"Of course. She obviously wants your love more than she wants your protection. And you love her, right? So who are you to deny both yourself and her of that. And love has never been safe for people. It can always come crashing down in a single instant. It's our job to keep it alive and well. That's why it takes two to create love." She explained it like she was an expert.

"But the whole reason I want to protect her is _because_ I love her. That's what grandpa and grandma always said. A real man is a protector. And a real mother is a nurturer." I told her.

She gained a very weird smirk. "Since when is she a mother?" She asked me.

This caught me off guard. I hadn't noticed that I had referred to Areta as a mother. "That's just how grandpa said it."

"Mmhm." She nodded like she didn't buy it.

I growled in frustration. "How am I supposed to protect her and be her tree at the same time?"

"I can't answer that. But let me ask you a question. Do you think she could stand to be alive while you were dead? _That_, Sam, is the question you must answer." With that, she stood up and left the room. Leaving me to think about her question.

Could she?


	30. Chapter 30: Beast Destruction

**Sam August 23rd (Monday)**

It had been a week since Areta and I had had our little whatever it was. I was left to sleep on the couch in my room while she slept in the bed. I guess it was fair. I did piss her off and hurt her.

Amy had gotten some more powers. She got the basic physical ones and even my ice from some stray wendigos. However, it wasn't anywhere near as strong as mine was. It was like comparing a grain of sand to a boulder as tall as I was. She didn't use it much to say the least, especially since she could barely get it passed her finger tips. Just another example of how elemental powers were fickle.

I sighed. Nothing I had done in the past week had helped me with Areta. At this point, I was more frustrated than guilty. This was something I could fix with a simple intake of power. Yet, I would feel guiltier then, than I was now.

I decided it was time to get up. I had been laying in bed for about an hour now, waiting for Areta to wake up.

I got up off the couch and quietly went downstairs. I went into the kitchen for some breakfast. Inside, I found Amy in some clothes that left little to the imagination up top. I was glad I was wearing sweatpants and a T. By now, I had just accepted the way she acted. It wasn't like I could change her.

"Morning." She said while drinking some coffee.

"Morning. Is anyone else up?"

"Not that I know of."

"Alright." I opened up a cupboard and got out some cereal. I didn't bother to check the type.

I made myself a bowl and sat down at the kitchen table.

As I ate, I could feel Amy staring at me.

After I swallowed a bite, I responded. "Is there something you want?" I asked her.

Suddenly, she was behind me with her hands on my shoulders, gently messaging them.

"I've just noticed that you've been down in the dumps lately and wanted to know if I could help?" She asked, sliding her hands down my chest and pushing her breasts into my neck.

I grabbed her wrists and took them away when they hit my stomach.

"No thanks. I'm perfectly fine." I told her, a little more anger than I wanted in my voice.

"Oooohhhh, testy." She mocked me. "Just know that you can always come to me if you need _anything._"

"If I need_ anything_ I'd much rather it be from Areta. But thank you for the offer, now please, let me get back to my breakfast." I told her.

She just shrugged and went out of the kitchen.

Areta came in as soon as she left, but didn't say anything. It might have just been my imagination, but I thought I saw a slight smirk on her face for just a second.

Had she heard though? I didn't want her to be even madder at me. Damn it Amy, you have the worst timing. Although, if I had taken her up on her offer, I would've hurt Areta more than pissed her off. So this was the better situation.

I sighed internally, I was getting tired of having to juggle the, now, three women in my life.

'If only I was like Omir and just had one.' I realized how creepy that thought was after I had thought it. Omir had my sister. I didn't want to be Omir. But Areta and him didn't really talk, and Amy had straight up ignored him once she saw me win the sparring match.

I finished my cereal and cleaned up. Areta didn't say anything to me the entire time. I wasn't even sure she had looked at me after walking in.

**Right after lunch**

Omir, Amy and I were gearing up for another powers quest. Although Amy had the basics, she still didn't have anything to call her own except the Thunderbird's power, which let her release purple lightning and sonic booms. Omir wasn't happy about that since he couldn't do lightning, but what was he going to do? She wasn't very good with it yet, but it had potential. Although, I was still the strongest elemental fighter.

We spent most of the day looking, but didn't get anything good. Omir had found a phoenix, but wasn't able to catch it. That was about it.

What we came back to, knocked us off our feet. Strolling through ponyville was an Ursa. I couldn't tell from this distance whether it was a major or minor, but it was definitely an Ursa.

"Holy shit." I said stupidly.

"Are...are we supposed to fight that?" Amy asked. I could hear the terror in her voice. If she hadn't wet herself yet, she would when we got up close. Those things were massive. I knew from first hand experience. I had met one on my solo adventure across Equestria, however the one I had met had been pretty docile and had even let me touch it to acquire some powers, but I hadn't gotten anything. When I placed my hand on it, something kind of beeped. Pulse told me it was too powerful for me to take anything from it. Or something along those lines. But how we were supposed to fight one was a different story.

"Let's go." Omir told us as he sprouted his wings.

I did the same and we took off. I looked behind us to find Amy still on the ground.

"Evacuate the ponies. And make sure Areta, Emily and Josh are okay!" I called to her. She looked up at me, determined yet scared, and nodded. She sprouted her wings and flew off more towards the south end of town while we headed to the north end.

We flew hard and fast.

"So how are we going to do this? There's no way in hell for us to take it head on. It's too large and too powerful. Hell, we still have a little trouble with regular dragons. This thing's like the empire state building's little brother." I asked Omir.

"Let me send out a mind control pulse to the girls. It will be enough to tell them about my plan but not force them to do it. Alright?" He asked for my permission to use it. It was a fail safe for some of our more dangerous powers. If we weren't fighting each other, we had to ask the other. Mind control was one of those powers.

"So what is your plan?" I asked him.

He looked at me with a grin. I sighed, I wasn't going to like it.

"We piss it off any way we can!" He yelled into the wind. We were just about at the Ursa, who I now knew as a major. Omir shot forward at the speed of sound and turned off his wings. He went flying through the air.

He lifted his fist and, right before he hit the ursa, let out a giant sound wave into it's face. The force from his speed and the way he threw his punch, bunched up the sonic waves creating a high frequency blast. It hurt my ears and I could only imagine what it did to the Ursa.

I thought about what I was going to do then came up with a spectacular idea. This was the perfect time for me to use duplication. Usually, it didn't work well, but this was a different story.

I split into two beings, flying and ice, and strength and jumping.

**Areta**

I was hustling Josh and Emily out of the beast's vicinity. It wouldn't take much for it to stumble and flatten all three of us.

As we were running, I heard very loud wing beats. While Josh and Emily continued to run, I turned around expecting something else that was dangerous. It turned out to be Amy.

She landed next to me then looked at Emily and Josh, who had stopped.

"Good, you're all here." She said. "Keep going."

"Wait, if you're here, where is my brother and Omir?" Emily asked her.

"Trying to either slow it down or turn it around." She answered.

"They're what?!" I asked rhetorically. There was no way they could beat an Ursa Major. Even with Twilight and her friends helping. I needed to get over there. Maybe I could make a difference. However, I knew that the other's would never let me go.

"Let's go, before we're all squished." I told them.

We all took off running. Emily and Josh were out in front, and I was next to Amy. I casually fell behind all of them, then, when I was far enough away, turned around and ran back. My feet pounding on the road.

* * *

Avian: I flew up high and summoned my ice abilities. I started firing ice shrapnel into the Ursa's nose, the softest part of it's face. I saw Twilight down below blasting it with magic while running in between its legs. I glanced around and saw the others helping in their own ways.

Strength: I landed hard, but the increase in my legs from jump was astounding. I could probably fall thirty stories and only sprain my ankle.  
I leaped up and smashed my fist into the Ursa's little toe. It was enough to get his attention. It lifted up it's grubby paw and tried to squish me, but it missed.

Avian: Nothing I was doing was bringing me much attention, so I formed the largest and pointiest ice spear I could make and chucked it at it's nose. It flew threw the air, but didn't have much power behind the throw. I was only as strong as Sam was in his normal state.  
It flew through the air and impaled the creature. Sure, a little cruel, but my job was to protect ponies, not Ursai.  
Meanwhile, Omir was running around below, smashing sound wave and magical cannons through it's legs and up at it's chin. We were like mosquitoes to this thing, but very annoying mosquitoes.

Strength: I leaped and dodged and rolled out of the way of the Ursa's paws, all the while dealing, hopefully, devastating blows to it's toes  
Suddenly, I heard a shout.  
I looked behind me to see Areta rushing towards me waving her arms. Suddenly, plants sprouted out of the earth and started winding their way up the Ursa's toes.  
It didn't even look at them before it lifted it's foot up and brought it down, crushing the plants and sending a shockwave through the ground.  
I resisted it just fine, as did Omir, Areta however, was not that lucky. She was sprawled on the ground. I felt something snap in me and I activated speed.

I rushed over to Areta, fully formed, and picked her up. There was a giant gash in her left arm and forehead.

"No. No no no no no no NO!" I yelled. This was not supposed to happen! She was supposed to be safe with Amy! Where was she?! I looked around and saw her flying towards us.

Suddenly, Twilight trotted up next to me.

"I saw the blast, what is she doing out here?" She asked me.

"I don't know." I held her in my arms, panicking.

"Sam, you have to get ahold of yourself. Omir and the rest of us can't do this without you. Sam!" She yelled.

I wasn't listening. I was just staring at Areta, so many emotions swirling in my mind. Why was she here? Why was she the one who was hurt when she had never wanted to fight? It didn't make any sense.

I noticed something around her neck. It was the dryadic amulet. Suddenly, red stained the edges of my eyes.

I grabbed it and yanked it off.

Pulse had once told me that, with the power of a dryadic tree in me, I could heal people. That's what I was going to do. At least, after I sent this stupid fucking bear back to the woods where it damn well belongs.

I crushed the necklace and absorbed it's power. I felt energy I hadn't felt in almost a year, run into me and fill my veins. I felt long forgotten stores of power open up and regeneration and sturdiness gained the newfound status of fundamental, under the dryadic tree.

Amy landed and put her hand on my shoulder.

"Take her away, before I lose myself." I told her. I was barely holding back the flood of anger and sadness within me. At any moment, I would burst. And I didn't want them to be around to witness it.

Amy just nodded and grabbed Areta. She flew off.

"Twilight, you too." I told her. She just nodded. I knew she wouldn't leave completely, I just wanted her out of the area.

I sprouted my wings and worked my way into the sky.

I stopped right by the Ursa's face. It looked sleepy and indifferent. That wasn't going to last.

"I'm going to send you to hell, monster." I told it right after I lost all willpower to keep my emotions in check.

I roared bloody murder and vines sprouted from the earth, curling their way up the Ursa's legs this time. They were much faster than Areta's, and they wrapped around the bear's legs with an unforseeable hunger.

They tightened as they rose, clamping the bear to it's current spot.

I flew up higher than the Ursa and turned off my wings. I dropped like a stone and fell. I quickly summoned Ice and formed the largest hammer I had ever made. The actual hammer part was easily as big as the average car. I turned on strength and brought it straight down as hard as I could on the Ursa's head. It went smashing to the ground and I went flying back up.

I turned on my wings and flew up high again after my momentum had ceased. I then started flapping down. Right before I would have impacted the Ursa, I turned on strength and smashed the hammer into it after sealing all the cracks in it with ice. The bear's head was still on the ground and it was pushed several feet into it and a trickle, to the bear but a river to me, of blood started pouring out of it's mouth. I stopped my momentum early. I landed on the ground and once again resealed my hammer. I walked towards the bear which seemed to have a little fear in it's eyes now.

"_Sam, stop. It's beaten. It was only hear scavenging. It now knows never to come back here. Stop!"_ Pulse pleaded with me.

"I'm protecting the town and getting revenge." I growled to him.

"_This isn't protecting the town anymore. It's a case of beating the shit out of a hungry creature that didn't know any better. If I'm telling you to stop, you need to stop. Your fatal flaw is against you right now. Think about it, if you kill this thing, what do you think will happen? The rest of its race will just stand for that? No, they'll come for you, not to mention, this one is small. The others are usually bigger. And this little power boost you have right now? It's temporary. The only reason you have it is because Cobalt's pissed too. You need to stop. Until you two become true partners, you will never have this kind of power again."_ He begged me.

"No."

Suddenly, something grabbed me and put me in a headlock from behind. I looked at the arms and could tell it was Omir.

"What are you doing?!" I yelled at him.

"Stopping you." He said decisively.

My hammer clattered to the ground and, since it was out of my grip, dissolved back into vapor.

He must of had strength on because I couldn't get out of the hold.

I felt the vines withering and the Ursa got up and ran. It didn't crush anymore houses on the way out.

"Go! Run like a coward you piece of crap!" I yelled at it.

"Sam, I'm sorry, but you leave me no choice." Omir apologized.

"What are you-"

He grabbed my head and delivered a sonic blast to my temples, knocking me unconscious.

I woke up a few minutes later, feeling much weaker than when I had been knocked out.

I was on a hill. I looked around and saw everybody gathered around something. Most of our pony friends were there as well.

I looked up and over, and caught a flash of red and green.

I quickly scrambled over. It was Areta, still wounded.

"Move please." I asked everyone. I was about to pick her up, but Twilight stopped me.

"It wouldn't be a good idea to move her. But she is still alive." She told me.

I was relieved, at least a little.

I remembered back to what Pulse had said so long ago.

'Can I really heal her?' I asked him.

"_You two are now connected again on an aural level. It is very much likely. Especially since she could kind of heal you when you two first became friends."_

"Let me try something." I told them. They all backed away to give me some space.

I pulled something up from the bands. Something I had not yet accessed. The only power that had never been revealed to me.

I opened my eyes when everybody gasped. My hands had turned into the glowing blue light that my wings appeared to be made out of.

I placed them on her head first and they sunk slightly in. She was still bleeding, I could tell that much from the cloth's dampness. I closed my eyes in concentration

Something was resisting me. Something powerful. I pushed against it as hard as I could. With every fiber of my body, I pleaded to be able to heal her.

After what felt like an eternity, the force that was resisting me disappeared. Energy flooded out of me and into Areta. I could feel the gash on her head being healed.

I moved my hands down to her arm and did the same routine.

After I was done, I opened my eyes. She was healed, but she wasn't awake.

"What's wrong? I healed her." I started panicking again.

"Sam, try to control yourself. We should get her home and have a doctor look at her." Emily suggested.

"How can a pony doctor help her?" I snapped. I apologized, but I was too angry for conversation.

I picked her up as delicately as I could and started carrying her home. Everybody else followed.


	31. Chapter 31: Fire

**Emily September 7th (Monday)**

"I'm worried about him." I told Omir. We were currently watching Sam sleep with his head on Areta's bed. He had tried as hard as he could not to leave her side ever since she was hurt. He didn't even leave the room unless someone else was inside to watch her. The pain on his face hurt me just to look at, I couldn't even imagine how he was feeling.

According to the doctor, there was nothing wrong with Areta. She just wouldn't wake up, couldn't wake up as one doctor put it. It was almost like something was stopping her.

I hoped she woke up soon, because it was killing my brother having to wait for her. Although he protested and told us all he was fine, his hair was starting to loose it's sheen, his skin was becoming even more pale than usual, and his eyes had lost some of their color. He was wasting away waiting for her. And it killed me inside to watch that happen to him and know there was only so much I could do. Really, the only thing I could do was keep Josh and Amy away. I knew he wouldn't want them around. Heck, he barely wanted Omir and I around most of the time. I sighed internally.

The only other thing that had happened was that I had learned that I was officially pregnant. I had missed another set. That made two in a row, with my baby at the most two months old, and at the least, a month and half. I was going to be a mother, Omir was going to be a father, Sam was going to be an uncle, and, if she wanted to be, I guess Areta could be the baby's aunt.

I noticed Omir hadn't said anything back while I was thinking. I looked at him and saw that he was watching Sam. He was worried too.

"Do you think we should force him back to the house?" I asked him.

"No, that will only upset him more. And I don't think we could even if we really wanted to. With the power of the tree back in him, he's now near unstoppable compared to Amy and I."

He paused as if to give something more thought. "However, we could try to convince him to do something with Amy and I. Or just myself. Say something like, I need help practicing and Amy's too new?" He bounced the idea off of me.

"He might go for it, but I'm not sure." I answered.

"We have to try." He responded with determination.

He was about to try to wake Sam up, but I stopped him with a finger to his lips and shake of my head. He needed sleep right now. Omir nodded in understanding. I walked over and put a blanket over him, noticing his hand was clenched around Areta's and his face was a little scrunched up.

"He's having a nightmare." I told Omir.

I remembered back to the song our grandmother used to sing to us to calm us down and get us to stop crying. I thought 'why not' and sung to him, rubbing his head at the same time and messing up his hair.

A few minutes later, his whole body relaxed and I smiled a little bit. After all this time, he still fell for the same old stuff. However, he still clung to Areta's hand like his life depended on it.

I didn't want to see either of them like this anymore and we left, telling the nurse to have a good night.

**Omir September 8th (Tuesday)**

"Are you sure, Sam?" I asked him. He had refused to go train with me.

"I'm sure, Omir. She needs me here." He said, staring at Areta with sadness in his eyes.

"Sam, please. This isn't healthy. She looks better than you do right now." I explained to him.

"So? What happens if she wakes up and I'm not here? Will she think I abandoned her? Left her for dead? I'm not taking that chance. I WILL be here when she wakes up." He had no true emotion in his voice. Just small emphasis.

"Do you really think she would want you wasting away at her bedside?" I asked him.

He hesitated before answering. "No, she wouldn't. But I still don't want to leave and I would like it if you would."

I respected his wishes and left.

Emily was waiting outside the door.

"So?" She asked me, worried.

"He won't come. And it's because he thinks she'll hate him if she wakes up and he isn't there." I explained to her.

She had no response to that, so we went home.

**Omir September 27th (Sunday)**

"Come on, Amy." I called to her. All she was doing right now was slowing me down. We had been out here in the Everfree for hours now and hadn't seen anything worth getting. I was starting to get fed up.

"Fine, we'll split up." I called to her after a few minutes of waiting.

"Fine with me." I heard her yell back. We could go at our own paces if we split up.

I forged ahead, ducking through tree branches and leaves and vines.

I hated this place. It stunk, it was dark, and there was always something lurking around the corner. Sam was okay with it, but he had grown up as a bone fide woodsman. He could still probably survive a whole month out here without any help or his powers.

As I walked on, I heard a chirp.

I looked up to see a nest, but couldn't see what was in it.

I turned on my wings and softly flew up, careful not to disturb the nest.

I looked inside to see a baby phoenix. I had had a run in with a phoenix a few months ago and was still pretty mad that I hadn't gotten it's abilities. I still didn't even know what it would give me.

I suddenly turned around to see one of the parents looking at me angrily while flapping its wings.

It shot toward me and started pecking.

I felt something go into my bands and I flew away as quickly as I could.

I looked through my abilities and found it. Inferno.

"Inferno? Oh, that sounds fun."

I landed on the ground and brought up sound.

I put my hands together like I was holding a volleyball and sent blasts of waves off from each hand.

It was my personal signal. A few minutes later, Amy touched down.

"Want to see what I just got from a phoenix?" I asked her, excited.

"Lay it on me."

I turned it on and flame shot up my hand from my finger tips to my wrist in an instant.

I raised my palm up and willed the fire forward. A jet of greenish yellow fire shot out and cut a tree in half.

"Wow. It seems just like Sam's Ice and my Lightning." She pointed out.

"Yeah. I guess it does. I guess I finally have a fourth tier ability which is fantastic. I can't wait to show Emily when we get back."

I sprouted my wings and took off, sailing above the Everfree towards home.

* * *

**A/N: Next chapter will be kind of short because I fucked up the timeline and I am not rewriting six chapters so I can write three extra (and besides, the previous chapters have been long as hell). Don't worry, things will bump up in arc three. It's mostly just a fight scene and I really needed another chapter for overall pacing. I'm finally getting a new laptop and I'm so happy. The one I have right now is such a piece of crap even though it's only about four years old. But because of that, I'm making myself get a job. So, I won't have as much time to write so that might impact how often I send out chapters of ANY of the stories I want to write. Either way, see ya on the flip side. (P.S. I would really love to know what everyone thought of Arc 2, cause I got over 400 views the second day the first chapter of arc 2 was up. I can see how many people read the story daily.)**


	32. Chapter 32: Downfall of Cobalt and Toxic

**Sam October 8th (Monday)**

"Sam, you're doing this." Omir said to me. He thought it was bad for me to spend almost a month a half in Areta's hospital room. He said I needed to get out more.

We trudged through the forest for hours.

"Hey, look at that." Omir pointed something out.

I looked up and saw a rainbow colored snake.

"The hell is that?" I asked, completely shocked. In all my talks with Twilight about the various creatures here, I had never even heard of something like this.

"I don't know why you're asking me. Out of the two of us, you're the expert." Omir said.

"I don't care what it is, the first one to get its abilities is the first to get to show em off." I told him. I felt the rush of discovering a creature that could help me become more powerful reinvigorate me.

I turned on agility and leaped for it, but it suddenly took off without any wings. Omir chased after it and I followed.

It was fast, the bugger. We chased it at top speed through the forest, jumping over and dodging tree braches and roots.

We ran until something smacked Omir in the chest and he came to a dead stop. I slowed down and ran back after him. I helped him up.

I looked around to find that we were in a rather large clearing with nothing around us.

"What hit you?" I asked him. "There isn't anything around you."

"I don't know, but whatever it was, it was either really, REALLY, sturdy. Or extremely strong because we were going pretty fast.

He looked into his shirt. "Yeah, that's gonna bruise. Oh well, if it gets annoying, I can always fix it.

"We can help you with that." Someone said.

I turned around to see two humans, a man and a woman, looking at us.

"How did two more humans get here?" I asked myself.

"They aren't humans." Omir said. "Look at their wrists and their heads."

They had horns and tails, and on their wrists were meta-morphs. The woman had on a teal meta morph and the man had on a hot pink one.

"You're right. I remember Celestia telling me about these creatures. They were the ones that the meta morphs were originally meant for." I told him.

The woman had on a very seductive dress with a band around her waist holding up a long cloth that went down to her ankles and exposed the outsides of her legs. On the top, she whore a puffy type of shirt that ended in a band around the top of her stomach.

The man had on a very white outfit. The pants looked to be made of silk and were baggy as well. His shirt looked more like an open vest than anything else and he had nothing else on underneath.

Neither of them were wearing shoes.

"Help us with what?" Omir asked, wary. I didn't blame him.

"Bruising." She said with a very sadistic tone in her voice.

The man stepped forward. "We're here to deliver a message. Crimson will come for Violet in eight months time. You are to be ready by then, or you will die at his hands."

"The hell kind of message is that?" I asked them, angry now.

"It's this kind of message!" The woman screamed with glee while she shot forward as fast as a bullet. Her elbow connected with Omir's face and he went flying backward into a tree.

I turned my head forward to find myself staring at the chest of the man. He hadn't looked this big when he was twenty feet away. He appeared to be at least seven feet tall.

Suddenly, something hit me in the stomach, winding me, and I shot backward and landed next to Omir on a tree.

"Ouch." I said through gritted teeth.

"Now I'm pissed." I said as I got up.

I turned on speed.

I looked at Omir who sent me a mind control pulse. We couldn't control each other, but we could communicate with it.

I flew forward as fast as I could and, in an instant, was right in front of the man. I quickly turned on strength and blasted my fist into his side, sending him careening into the trees on our left.

I heard the woman screaming as she flew through the air from Omir's hit.

We did a high five and turned back to face our opponents.

However, mine was gone. I turned on Aura eyes and scanned. I saw him coming at me and I activated Sturdiness since I couldn't dodge in time.

His fist connected with my face and I went flying past Omir and the woman, who were in a hand to hand fight, and into a tree, landing feet first. I turned on Jump and sailed at the man. I pulled the same trick I had done to Omir in our last practice match. The spear went sailing through the air, but a vine caught it and chucked it back at me. I turned on my Golden Armor and deflected my spear.

I went sailing past the man who had side stepped me. I quickly turned on air and angled myself down. I landed and did a roll, twisting my body so I came up with both hands up. I sent multiple Ice shards sailing towards the man. He blocked some of them, but not all. A few embedded themselves in his chest; but, he just ripped them out. Blood poured from the wounds, but he didn't seem to care.

He rushed me and threw a punch. I sidestepped under him and dealt my strongest hit to his ribcage, hopefully breaking a few ribs in the process. I got what I wanted and heard several cracks.

I leaped away and came up about ten feet from him. He seemed to be reeling from my punch, but a second later, stood up and glared at me. All I had done was piss him off.

He walked towards me and the plants around him started to tremble.

Suddenly, thorns shot from all sides around me. I felt them flying through the air and turned on my golden armor.

I deflected several dozen of them, but they kept coming. I would tire out eventually and they would get me. I was trapped since I could barely move while the armor was on.

Then, I heard a yell of pain.

I looked behind me to see Omir being pulled apart by hands made of water. The woman seemed to be controlling them. He kept trying to ignite, but the water kept dousing his flames.

She was grinning like a crazy person.

"I am SO happy!" She yelled with delight.

I turned back towards the man. Somehow, he had managed to get right in front of me without me noticing. I remembered that I could control plants too. I spread out my power, but his hold over them was far stronger than anything that I could muster.

"Don't worry. You'll be at peace soon enough." He told me.

Suddenly, his hand shot out and wacked me in a pressure point fairly hard.

The thorns stopped shooting and I slumped to the ground. I had a coughing fit and saw that I was coughing up blood.

I looked up at the man and he smiled. He raised his fist and brought it down. Everything went dark.

**Areta**

I sat up suddenly, gasping. I clutched my throat to get more air, but couldn't.

To my surprise, Emily was in my sight. She was looking terrified and she was saying something, but I couldn't hear her. Then, some ponies came in and jabbed me with something.

I could breath again! I took in deep lungfuls of air in-between coughing fits.

I calmed down a few minutes later.

I looked around the room and found Emily.

"Where are they?" I grabbed her shoulders in desperation.

"Who?" She asked me.

"Omir and Sam! Something happened to them. I just know it." I told her.

She started explaining to me the situation; how Sam wouldn't leave my bedside and that Omir had forced him to go on a powers quest to get some fresh air.

I swung my legs out over the bed and stood up. Or, at least I tried to. I immediately collapsed into Emily's arms.

"Your muscles are atrophied. You've been in a hospital bed for almost a month and a half." She said.

Just great.

"We have to find them. No. I can feel him. Sam. He's weak and he's losing strength. We have to find him and quickly. Before he dies." I begged her.

"Then stay here. I'll go get help." She commanded.

"No. I want to come with. I haven't seen him in what's felt like forever. I have to see him." I pleaded with her.

"You are staying here and that's final, Areta. It isn't safe for you out there right now and to be honest with you, you'll just slow me down. I'm sorry, but you can't come." Then, she ordered a doctor to not let me leave the hospital.

**Emily**

I rushed out of the hospital and towards Twilight's library.

I burst through the door and found her reading a book while taking some notes.

"Emily?" She asked, confused.

"I need your help. I need you to find Sam and Omir." I told her.

She gave me a questioning look and I explained it to her.

"That's going to be hard-" She said.

"Do it like you did last time! Track the bands. Or... I'm his sister. Use me." I told her, grasping at straws. Areta had freaked me out more than I had thought.

"Calm down, Emily. Let me try." She closed her eyes and concentrated.

I felt something tingling in my body for a few moments. Then, she opened her eyes.

"I got it. Let's go." She said.

She galloped out of the library and I followed after, having to run as fast as I could to keep up with her.

We rushed into the everfree without a second thought. Twilight could take most of the things in here anyway. Probably.

It took us a good twenty minutes before we found them.

They lay crumpled in broken heaps next to each other.

"Sam!" I screeched. I rushed to him and looked him over, afraid to touch him. He had blood everywhere and he looked like he had several broken bones. Omir was no better.

I felt tears running down my face.

"What could do this to them?" I asked Twilight.

She was in shock.

I walked over to her and started shaking her.

"Twilight!" I finally snapped her out of it.

"What could do this to them?" I asked her.

"I...I don't know. But I do know we have to get them to the hospital before they lose too much blood." She said. I could still tell she was panicking.

She picked them up in her magic.

"I'll be right back, Emily. It will be hard enough teleporting them and myself. I don't want to risk it with you as well."

"Please keep them safe?" I asked her. She nodded and teleported away.

"What is this? Another... what was it they called us? Human? Yeah, that's it. Human. Another human. This one has yellow hair. Much better than that dirty black color and horrifying red." I heard a feminine voice call to me.

"Who's there?" I called out.

"Just the Nedoms that beat the ever loving moss out of those two _humans._ You know, I really like that word. Rolls off the tongue. Kinda like coconut." The same voice said to me.

"Coconut, really? That's what came to mind when you wanted to compare it to something?" A masculine voice chastised the feminine one.

"Don't judge me." The feminine voice said.

I still couldn't find them.

"Why did you do it?" I asked them, angry now.

"Because they're our opposites. Well, kinda. At least Violet and Crimson are opposites." The feminine voice answered.

"That doesn't explain anything."

"Don't you get it? The Meta-morphs were made from emotions and states of being. I'm happiness, and muscles over there is contentedness. The one with the red hair is depression, while the black haired one is jealousy. And our elemental abilities correspond. For the most part. Emotional science isn't an exact science. So, we beat them up. Then, when they were unconscious, I beat em some more. It was heaven." The feminine voice explained.

I couldn't get my head around it. Why were the bad emotions, the good ones? It didn't make any sense.

I slumped to the ground.

"It seems your little pony friend is coming back. Tell her to tell princess Celestia that Tormun says hi." The feminine voice giggled, then a pressure that I hadn't noticed before, disappeared.

A few seconds later, I heard Twilight.

"Emily, it's time to go back. Omir and Sam are in the ICU."

"Tormun says hello." I told her.

"What?"

I looked her in the eyes.

"Tormun says hello."

* * *

A/N: Ok, so I'm not doing another chapter. My old computer fucked me. I didn't feel like having to set up a journal and do all of that crap, so I just typed it into the copy and paste section. And you want to know what happened? It fucked me. The webpage screwed itself and couldn't be displayed when I hit the post button. So, it deleted the chapter. And knowing me, the new one I write is going to be shit, so there's no point in me even doing it. It's just going to be garbage because the second version always is when it comes to me unless I'm updating. So, this is the last chapter for the arc. And fuck my computer (I had to take this down and update the A/N. I just forgot about it because of problems that would take too long to go into). See ya on the flip side.


	33. Chapter 33: One v One v Four

**Arc 3**

**Prophesy of the return:**

**Fire Ice and Storm**

**The three forces of the Earth**

**Of one shall decide the final Form.**

**Three heroes shall answer the Call**

**One shall Stand**

**The second will fall, and the third will Brawl.**

**An ancient Evil that has once been Silenced**

**Shall rise Again**

**From the ashes of an Alliance.**

**Sam; March 17th (Sunday) (Six months later) (Everfree forest grotto)**

I leaped out of the way of one of Omir's fireballs, only to fall right into Amy's Thunder trap.

I felt the electricity flowing through my body, tensing up my muscles and vibrating my body. It stopped a few seconds later, but I was dazed. Good thing Amy had forgotten about the trap and was now going at it with Omir.

I shook myself out of it and readied duplication.

I split into four copies. One contained Ice and strength. The second, agility and dexterity. The third, fire breath and flying. And the fourth, air and water.

Amy and Omir didn't know I could split into four clones yet, only three. So Air was supposed to hide among the trees and screw with them when the chance arose.

Avian: I flew up high, ready to provide support for Ice and Close quarters as they charged Omir and Amy.

Close quarters: I went in for the kill on Omir. I jumped into the air and spun around with my foot out, going for a type of flying kick. Amy must have seen me, because Omir whirled around and blocked it with his arm. But he still went flying off to the left.

I landed and dodged an electric bolt from Amy. I got up into her guard and was about to punch her when she pushed me back. Suddenly, Ice flew and just barely missed her, running in between us with an ice saber. He stopped between me and her and I used him as a spring board. I did a front flip and brought my foot down on Amy's shoulder, sending her into the ground.

Avian: I saw Close quarters smack Omir about ten feet to the side, then engage Amy with Ice. I flew down when he was getting up and sent a firebolt at him. It wouldn't even hurt him since he was immune to fire, but it would piss him off. I was right and he sent sonic blasts after me. I wasn't worried. Air would back me up and disrupt any sonic blasts. Both from Omir and Amy.

Ice: I turned around after Close quarters had done his thing and went in for the kill. I graw a bat out from my arm and walked over to Amy. I picked her up and was about to tag her out, but she surprised me by sending over a thousand volts into my brain by putting her hands on my temples. I felt myself disolve and strengthen the others.

Close quarters: I felt my self suddenly get a boost of power. Ice must have been dissolved when I turned my back to focus on Omir. It was one of the things Sam had discovered about duplication. The more clones he had, the weaker they were. So, when one dissolved, it strengthened all of us. I only had about a quarter of Sam's power, now I had a third.

I ran at Amy and leaped. She anticipated my move and sent a light spear at me. I couldn't dodge it in time and was impaled. I dissolved.

Air: I knew the jig was up. They knew there were more than three clones. When Close quarters had dissolved, Avian had kept using both his wings and his firebreath. And they had seen.

I rushed out there and threw a torrent of water at Amy, sending her off balance and shorting her out.

I sent another water torrent at Omir and doused his flames.

Sam: Suddenly, I felt whole again. I looked at Amy and saw she had a bow made of light in her hands and it was aimed at where avian had been last.

I then turned and found Omir. He was in mid punch and there was nothing I could do. His fist slammed into me and I went rocketing back and broke through a tree and embedded myself in another one before I stopped moving.

"You gotta be shitting me." I said as I activated strength and tried to burst my way out to no avail. Having four clones really tired me out.

"I guess I lost this one." I said. "Now someone get me out!" I yelled at them while they continued their battle.

_"You're a dumbass."_ I heard Pulse say.

"Why?"

_"Because you don't know how to use duplication. This was a situation where you needed to be powerful, not numerous."_ He explained.

"You know, this is just as much your fault as it is mine." I told him

"Really now. And you do you figure that?"

"You're supposed to be my back up. And you know what? You suck ass at it. I'd rather have a rock as my back up than you." I told him. He didn't respond to that.

I watched as Amy and Omir duked it out for another five minutes before Amy took Omir down. She had him pinned with a light knife against his throat.

"You may be the best with your hands and Sam may be better with his elemental fighting. But I'm the best with weapons." She said to him.

It was true. After she had gained the ability from some rogue light nymphs to create any crude weapon or tool out of light, she had become really good with just about anything she could make.

It was really friggin annoying. It gave her the upper hand in a lot of battles when she could pull out a warhammer that weighed nothing to her, but felt real to both Omir and myself.

"Since you won, can you get me out of this tree. I got an itch and I can't get it." I called to her.

She got off of Omir and walked over to me. She grapped my waist and pulled. Eventually, she managed to tear me out of it, but destroyed the tree in the process. I set to work scratching my back. It felt amazing.

"Thank you." I said to her. "Do you have enough juice left to give us a teleport back to the house?" I asked her.

"Yeah. I didn't use nearly as much energy as you two." I walked over to Omir with her behind me. I helped Omir up and she put her hands on our shoulders.

Suddenly, my stomach was gone and I was staring at Emily eating lemons.

I raised an eyebrow at her when my stomach calmed down. Mostly since she hated lemons.

"What? I had a craving." She said. Her pregnency was getting ridiculous. She wanted everything under the sun. One time, I caught her eyeing the hand soap in the kitchen. She said she thought it was a piece of white chocolate. I then pointed out to her that ponies didn't have white chocolate in this part of Equestria. She denied not knowing that, but I didn't believe her.

Not to mention that, even though she was three times her regular size, she still wanted to move around like she was a teenager. We kept telling her to stop pushing herself, but she wouldn't listen.

"Sam, is that you?" I heard Areta call from the living room.

"Yeah." I called back. She walked into the kitchen and I gave her a hug.

"So who won this time?" She asked.

"Amy." I told her.

"So that's fifteen for you, sixteen for Omir, and fourteen for her?" She asked. I nodded.

"Her and her stupid weaponized light. It's like Omir and his beebee rocks." I told her.

"Or you and your duplication?" She asked with a smile, bringing up one of my more annoying abilities for them. It wasn't very effective at this point, but it still caused them a lot of headache.

I could only nod.

We walked into the living room and I fell down face first into the couch. I wasn't hurt all that bad, just a few scrapes and bruises, so I didn't have to have regeneration on, but I was still really tired.

"Come on Sam, you can't be that tired. You barely lasted a few minutes this time. That's not like you." Omir said as he patted me on the back.

"You try using four clones simultanously and see what that does for your energy levels." I snapped at him through the pillow.

"Don't be that way, Sam." Amy said. I could her the mockery in her voice.

"Keep talking. We'll see who wins next time." I told them. I had the most draining powers out of all of us. My duplication and golden armor were the most intensive abilities we had as a collective group. Even Amy's teleportation wasn't as draining.

"Yeah yeah." Amy said.

"So who's making dinner tonight?" I asked through the pillow. I had cooked last night and I was starving.

"Actually, I think it's me tonight." Omir said. When we had left the grotto, the sun had been near the horizon so it was time for dinner.

"I should probably get started on that." He said.

I lifted my head up. "Try and make something edible this time! I'm starving!" I told him. I hated it when he cooked. His meals were terrible.

"No guarantees." He called back.

I just let my head fall back into the pillow.

As I was laying there, listening to Amy and Areta talking about something I wasn't interested in, I thought back to when Omir and I had woken up in the hospital.

It had only been a few hours since we had been brought there.

Emily was still very distraught over her talk with the 'nedoms' as they called themselves. Such a stupid name. And Areta was still really weak.

Once Emily had calmed down enough to explain everything, we had learned what was coming and started training ourselves and our powers. We mainly stuck to training with each other rather than individually in our own, personal, training grounds. We felt it would help us develop as a team. Learn each other's strengths and weaknesses.

Like Amy and Omir's weakness to water. I could cover that and more. With power over it as an ability of mine, and the added benefit to freeze water with Ice, I could help keep them in working order with their strongest abilities: Omir's inferno, and Amy's Thunder storm.

Amy could cover Omir and I if we ran out of energy. She could either create weapons for us out of Light, or teleport us away. The first option would only happen though if we needed to stay and fight, or if Amy was out of energy herself. Her light manipulation didn't take much energy. Mainly because she used it all the time.

Omir could cover Amy and I when were stuck in a tight spot. He had a mind for strategy under pressure and was pretty good with ideas. He could also cover our tracks with his Inferno and keep an eye on our enemies with his soundwave sonar.

Sure, there were still holes in our teamwork: Amy's uncoordination, Omir's inability to switch between Abilites relatively quickly and his bloodlust for battle, and my tendency to use my energy rather quickly compared to them.

Either way though, we had to work together. It was the only way were going to win. Six months ago, Omir had been outclassed and I was stupid, and Amy had been nowhere near our level, both in combat experience and power.

We could only hope that we were equal with our enemies.

Suddenly, my head shot up and looked out the window. The sun was gone and the stars were bright.

Had I fallen asleep?

My head dropped into the pillow. "You people need to learn to wake me up when I fall asleep." I complained to no one.

I got up off the couch and went into the kitchen.

I saw on the counter a sandwhich with a note.

'For when you wake up.'

It was my sisters handwriting.

"Better than having to make it for myself." I said, thankful to my sister for remembering me. And for not letting Areta do it for her. Her sandwhiches usually had a lot of 'extra' ingrediants.

I sat down at the table and started eating absentmindedly.

I eventually finished the sandwhich and washed it down with a glass of water. I put the cup in the sink and headed upstairs to Areta and I's room.

I found her sprawled across the entire bed. I sighed and walked over to my side. I gently grabbed her and moved her over, careful not to wake her. I was glad she was a heavy sleeper for the most part.

I crawled into bed and put my back to the wall after straightening out the blankets for us.

It wasn't five minutes later that I felt her hands wrap around my neck and pull my head forward into her chest.

'Not again.' I thought to myself. She liked to grab in her sleep. It didn't matter what it was, pillow, blanket, me. If she could get her arms around it, it went straight to her chest. I always assumed it was because she had slept in a tree for almost two thousand years. You had to grab something while you were in the branches so you could stay up there.

I tried getting her arms off of me, but she had a death grip on my head and neck.

"Sorry, but there's no way I'm getting to sleep like this." I apologized to her. If it wasn't her scent or the softness that got to me, it would be the lack of breathe that I was getting. Her holding me like this wouldn't kill me, but it wouldn't be good to spend a night on the verge of asphyxiation.

I brought up my hand and touched the bottom of her chin and started to quickly rub it back and forth trying to tickle her.

Suddenly, my whole body moved in a way it wasn't supposed to. She was sitting up straight, but I went from laying on my side to having a crooked back and waist.

"What's going on?" She asked the darkness around us.

I tapped her on the back.

I could feel her look down and heard her gasp. She immediately let go and apologized.

After my breathing returned to normal and I got into a comfortable sitting position, I calmed her down.

"It's fine, it was an accident." I told her.

"Did you find the sandwhich?" She asked me.

I nodded. "You guys know it's alright to wake me up, right?"

"We do, it's just that you looked so peaceful, we didn't want to disturb you." She said.

I sighed "I guess it's for the best. At least I didn't have to eat Omir's shoddy cooking." I fell backwards onto my pillow.

"Let's go to bed, I am pretty tired." I told her.

"Sorry for waking you up, by the way. But it was the only way that I know would work." I apologized to her for real.

"It's fine." She brushed it off.

She laid back down and faced away from me, probably trying to avoid pulling me into her chest by accident for a second time tonight.

"Night." I said to her as I yawned.

"Good night."

And with that, I fell back asleep, worn out from today.

* * *

**A/N: The posting of this chapter marks the one year anniversery of this story. No, this is probably not (as of the writing of this A/N (8/20)) the start of Arc 3. I will be finishing up my latest story and when that is done, I might continue with this, or I might do a story I've been wanting to do for awhile now. Back to the story. Even though it's been a year, I still have fun writing these chapters. It's not a chore, like with my current story, it's still fun. It still comes to me as easily as the ABC's. I don't have to think about it, I just write it (then proof read it like five times before I even post it to the documents manager on the site. Then I read it one MORE time just to be safe). I can safely say that this story will be finished (I wouldn't dream of leaving any of my stories unfinished, but even if that were to happen, this story would be safe). I still love writing these characters, and I will be sad to see them go. But when they do, it will be with a bang. And, stay tuned for an epilogue I have planned. Update: My internet sucks right now. It keeps cutting in and out all day and the overall quality of it is going down. I'm supposed to be switching providers soon, but I don't know how soon. So, to make sure I actually get this out there, I'm posting it today, the day before the anniversary. It pisses me off, but there's nothing I can do since I don't know how bad it will be tomorrow. See ya on the flip side.**


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